Road Photos & Information: New South Wales: Pacific Motorway, Pacific Highway, New England Highway, John Renshaw Drive, Gore Hill Freeway, Warringah Freeway, Sydney Harbour Tunnel, Cahill Expressway, Eastern Distributor, Southern Cross Drive, General Holmes Drive, The Grand Parade, President Avenue, Princes Highway & Princes Motorway (M1 / A1)

Road Photos & Information: New South Wales

M1 A1

Pacific Motorway, Pacific Highway, New England Highway, John Renshaw Drive, Gore Hill Freeway, Warringah Freeway, Sydney Harbour Tunnel, Cahill Expressway, Eastern Distributor, Southern Cross Drive, General Holmes Drive, The Grand Parade, President Avenue, Princes Highway & Princes Motorway (M1 / A1) - Gerringong to South Nowra

Statistics:

Length: 1354 km (Gerringong to South Nowra: 37 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: Gerringong, Toolijooa, Foxground, Berry, Meroo Meadow, Bomaderry, Nowra and South Nowra

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:

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.
1881: Construction of the Nowra Bridge over the Shoalhaven River
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
1939: By the middle of the year, 300 miles (or 50% of the then highway) had been paved with bitumous surface.
1981: Duplication of Nowra Bridge.
November 2011: Construction on the upgrade started at South Nowra to provide consistent four lane conditions on the Princes Highway between Bomaderry and Jervis Bay Road. 3
November 2012: Work started on Princes Hwy upgrade between Gerringong and Toolooja. 4

Preview:	Description:
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign on Princes Hwy (A1) at Berry approaching Prince Alfred St (TD5), October 2010. This location has since been bypassed. Image © Paul Rands
	Reassurance Directional Sign: Distance sign on Princes Hwy (A1) at Berry, December 2013. This location has since been bypassed. Image © Michael Greenslade
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign approaching Bolong Rd at Bomaderry, December 2013. Image © Michael Greenslade
	Shoalhaven River: Princes Hwy (A1) as it crosses Shoalhaven River via Nowra Bridge at Bomaderry, December 2013. Image © Michael Greenslade
Click here for the Princes Hwy (A1) between South Nowra and Ulladulla Click here for the continuation of the Princes Hwy (A1) between Yallah and Gerringong

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, Princes Highway upgrade, South Nowra.
4 Roads & Maritime Services, Gerringong Upgrade, Community Update, November 2012.

Last updated: 22-Dec-2019 18:57

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