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Statistics:

• Length: 1354 km (Yallah to Gerringong: 30 km)
• Northern Terminus: Queensland Border at Tweed Heads, continues as Pacific Motorway (M1)
• Southern Terminus: Victorian Border at Timbillica, continues as Princes Highway (A1)
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route: Yallah, Albion Park, Oak Flats, Dunmore, Bombo, Kiama and South Kiama

Route Numbering:

• Current: A1

• Former:
• Road Authority Internal Classification: HW1 (Victorian border to Yallah and Waterfall to Kogarah) 1

General Information:

The Princes Highway was formed from a string of roads linking Sydney to the Illawarra, and then forming a coastal route to Melbourne and into South Australia. The section covered by A1 is in 2 pieces - between Rockdale and Waterfall in Sydney, and then Yallah near Wollongong through to the Victorian Border. The route is a mix of urban arterial road, dual carriageway and also rural highway.

History:

• 1858: First bridge over Macquarie Rivulet at Albion Park Rail.
• 7 June 1926: The Princes Highway comes under a federal and state government £ for £ funding scheme, thus recognizing the importance of the highway as major route.
• August 1920: Official opening of Princes Highway performed at Warragul in Victoria. The formation of the Princes Highway is from existing roads being renamed, after the visit to Australia in 1920 of the Prince of Wales (later to become King Edward VIII, and after abdicating, the Duke of Windsor).
• 1 July 1928: Princes Highway became a state highway. 2
• 1931: Highway moved from route through Oak Flats and Shellharbour to Albion Park to Dunmore route.
• 1939: By the middle of the year, 300 miles (or 50% of the then highway) had been paved with bitumous surface.
• November 2003: Work begins on North Kiama Bypass. 3
• 26 November 2005: North Kiama Bypass was officially opened. The road was opened to traffic on Monday 28 November. It improved safety and travel conditions by eliminating a winding section of the highway at Minnamurra as well as removing through traffic in residential streets in Bombo, Kiama Downs and Minnamurra. 3
• 2007: Commencement of construction of the new section of the Princes Highway between Oak Flats and Dunmore.
• February 2009: A southbound off-ramp opened to traffic on the Kiama Bypass. The work involved constructing a new ramp off the Princes Highway on South Kiama Drive, relocating a water main and construction of an acceleration lane onto South Kiama Drive. 4
• 21 October 2009: The $108 million Oak Flats to Dunmore upgrade of the Princes Highway was opened to traffic. The upgrade provided four lanes of divided carriageway, two lanes in each direction with a grade separated interchange linked to Shellharbour Road. 5
• 4 February 2019: Work starts on Albion Park Rail Bypass. The project included 13 bridges and about a million cubic metres of earthworks. 6

Preview:	Description:
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Haywards Bay for the Illawarra Hwy (A48) junction, December 2013. Image © Michael Greenslade
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign on the off ramp to Haywards Bay Dr at Haywards Bay, December 2013. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign on Haywards Bay Dr approaching the interchange with Princes Mwy (M1) at Haywards Bay, December 2013. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Haywards Bay approaching the signalised roundabout with Illawarra Hwy (A48), December 2013. M1 ends at this intersection and becomes A1. Image © Michael Greenslade
	Intersection Directional Sign: ID sign at Albion Park Rail at the signalised roundabout with Illawarra Hwy (A48), December 2013. M1 ends at this intersection and becomes A1. Image © Paul Rands
	Reassurance Directional Sign: RD sign after the Illawarra Hwy (A48) junction at Albion Park Rail, August 2013. Image © Paul Rands
	Intersection Directional Sign: ID sign facing Airport Rd at Albion Park Rail, October 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Albion Park Rail approaching Tongarra Rd (TD8), December 2013. Image © Paul Rands
	Intersection Directional Sign: ID sign at the corner of Princes Hwy (A1) and Tongarra Rd (TD8) at Albion Park Rail, December 2013. Image © Paul Rands
	Riverside Drive: Princes Hwy (A1) at the Riverside Dr interchange at Dunmore, December 2013. Image © Michael Greenslade
	Supplemental Advance Directional Sign: Supplemental AD sign at Bombo approaching Gipps St, December 2013. Image © Michael Greenslade
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Bombo approaching Gipps St, December 2013. Image © Michael Greenslade
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Bombo approaching Gipps St, December 2013. Image © Michael Greenslade
Click here for the continuation of Princes Hwy (A1) between Gerringong and South Nowra Click here for Princes Mwy (M1) between Gwynneville and Yallah

1 Roads & Maritime Services, Schedule of Classified Roads and Unclassified Regional Roads, August 2013.
2 Main Roads Board, Annual Report, Volume 1, Number 1, September 1929.
3 Roads & Maritime Services, Projects, Southern region, Completed projects, North Kiama Bypass.
4 Roads & Maritime Services, Projects, Southern region, Completed projects, Kiama Bypass access ramps.
5 Roads & Maritime Services, Projects, Southern region, Completed projects, Oak Flats to Dunmore.
6 Illawarra Mercury, Shovels hit the dirt in long-awaited Albion Park Rail Bypass

Last updated: 22-Dec-2019 18:23

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