Road Photos & Information: New South Wales: Federal Highway (National Highway 23)

Road Photos & Information: New South Wales

Federal Highway (National Highway 23) - Former Alignment (Decommissioned)

Statistics:

Length: (Former alignment before bypassing) 68 km
Northern Terminus: (Prior to bypassing) Hume Highway (NH31) interchange at Wollogorang
Southern Terminus: (Prior to bypassing) ACT Border at Ginns Gap (Sutton)
Miscellaneous: Continues as Federal Highway (NH23) into the ACT
Suburbs, Towns & Localities along route: (Prior to bypassing) Yarra, Wollogorang, Collector, Bywong, Sutton and Ginns Gap

Route Numbering:

Current: None
Former:
Road Authority Internal Classification: None

General Information:

The Federal Highway is one of two major connectors from Canberra to the Hume Highway, which links Sydney with Melbourne.

Collector: 1

Collector was, until a few years ago, a stopover for travellers from Sydney. It was a tiny township which seemed to be little more than a pub and service station. Then the town was by-passed in 1988 by the Federal Highway.

The area was first settled by Europeans when T.A. Murray was granted land in 1829. By 1837 Murray had built himself a substantial home and that same year a postal service began from Goulburn across the flat plains to Lake George and down to Yass. This inevitably meant the development of staging posts and the towns of Gundaroo and Collector sprang up. It is said that, in spite of its obviously 'English' name, the town takes its name from an Aboriginal word 'colegdar'.

Collector's history is the history of the roads which passed through it. When horse and bullock were the main means of transportation the town prospered as it was a day's journey from Goulburn. It was during this time that it had five inns and a number of stores. When Canberra was chosen as the national capital the town benefited as the Barton Highway, later to become the Federal Highway, passed through the town and consequently was kept in good condition.

History:

1929: Work commenced on a major project to provide a suitable new road to Canberra from the Hume Highway south of Goulburn. The Federal Government provided considerable funding for this road, which became the Federal Highway. 1
January 1935 to March 1937: Major scheme of improvement of Federal Highway. With the completion of this work, a bitumous surface was available on the full length of the Federal Highway and the Hume Highway between Sydney & Canberra. 1
1954: The route was signposted as National Route 23. 1
1965: Rest areas introduced along the Federal Highway. 2
1974: Route was proclaimed a National Highway. 1
1988: Collector Bypassed. 3
1990s: Additional rest areas provided along Federal Highway as part of the Remembrace Driveway program. 2
1996: 24 kilometre upgrade to dual carriageway begins in the Lake George area. 2
August 1999: Northbound carriageway of the Federal Highway at Lake George opened. 2
2002: Completion of the $130 million conversion to dual carriageway near Lake George. 2

ACT Border to Hume Highway		Hume Highway to ACT Border
Preview:	Description:	Preview:	Description:
	Sutton Area: Former Federal Hwy alignment at Sutton, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Bredalbane Road & Church Street: Corner of Bredalbane Rd & Church St (former Federal Hwy) in the Collector town centre, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Sutton Area: Former Federal Hwy alignment at Sutton, January 2010. Note the black and white hazard signs on the curve. Image © Paul Rands		Black Intersection Directional Sign: Dust covered black ID sign facing Bredalbane Rd at Collector, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Yass River: Old Federal Hwy at Sutton as it crosses Yass River, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Black AD Sign: Black AD sign acting a reassurance sign in the Collector town centre, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Bywong: Old Federal Hwy as it winds its way through Bywong, January 2010. Note the faded non reflective warning sign. Image © Paul Rands		Collector Town Centre: Church St (former Federal Hwy) as it passes through Collector town centre, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Black Intersection Directional Sign: Black ID sign at the access point with the current alignment of Federal Hwy at Bywong, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Collector Town Centre: Church St (former Federal Hwy) as it passes through Collector town centre, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Bywong Area: Old Federal Hwy as it passes through Bywong near Wickes Rd, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Collector Town Centre: Church St (former Federal Hwy) as it passes through Collector town centre, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Bywong Area: Old Federal Hwy as it passes through Bywong, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Load Limit Sign: Load limit sign approaching the timber bridge over Collector Creek in Collector, January 2010. The bridge has since been closed. Image © Paul Rands
	Textual Stop Sign Ahead Sign: Textual stop sign ahead sign at Bywong approaching Shingle Hill Way (formerly Bungendore Rd), January 2010. This section of the route didn't face a stop sign until it was bypassed. Image © Paul Rands		Collector Creek: The timber bridge over Collector Ck at Collector, January 2010. The bridge has since been closed. Image © Paul Rands
	Brooks Creek: Old Federal Hwy (now Hadlow Dr) as it crosses Brooks Ck at Lake George, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Collector Creek: The timber bridge over Collector Ck at Collector, January 2010. The bridge has since been closed. Image © Paul Rands
	Lake George Area: Old Federal Hwy (now Hadlow Dr) as it passes through the Lake George area, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Faded Textual Warning Sign: Faded textual stock crossing sign on timber post at Collector on the former Federal Hwy alignment, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Lake George Area: Old Federal Hwy (now Hadlow Dr) as it passes through the Lake George area, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Flooding Warning Sign: Unusual flood warning sign with the line "Indicators Used To Show Depth" at Collector, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Lake George Area: Old Federal Hwy (now Hadlow Dr) as it passes through the Lake George area, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Black Intersection Directional Sign: Black ID sign at the junction with Gunning-Collector Rd at Collector, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Lake George Area: Old Federal Hwy (now The Vineyards Dr) as it passes through the northwestern Lake George area, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Black Advance Directional Sign: Black AD sign on the old highway at southern end of the Collector Bypass as you approach the current alignment of the Federal Highway, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Lerida Estate Winery: Old Federal Hwy (now The Vineyards Dr) at Lake George at the entrance to Lerida Estate Winery, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Lake George Area: Former alignment northwest of Lake George, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Lake George Winery: Old Federal Hwy (now The Vineyards Dr) at Lake George at the entrance to Lake George Winery, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Lake George Winery: Old Federal Hwy (now The Vineyards Dr) at Lake George at the entrance to Lake George Winery, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	End Pavement: End of the paved former alignment to the northwest of Lake George. The road beyond this point has been removed and taken away, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Lake George Area: Former alignment (now The Vineyards Dr) northwest of Lake George, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Former Road Reservation: The former road reservation of the Federal Hwy (now private property) to the northwest of Lake George, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Lake George Area: Former alignment (now The Vineyards Dr) northwest of Lake George, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Old Alignment: Northbound along the old alignment at the intersection with the Gunning-Collector Road, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands		Lake George Area: Former alignment (now The Vineyards Dr) northwest of Lake George, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Black Advance Directional Sign: Black AD sign on Gunning-Collector Rd at Collector, dating back to the bypassing of Collector, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		End Pavement: End of the pavement of the former Federal Hwy (now The Vineyards Dr) northwest of Lake George, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Black Intersection Directional Sign: Black ID sign facing Gunning-Collector Rd at Collector, dating back to the bypassing of Collector, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands		Former Alignment: Former alignment (now Hadlow Dr) to the west of Lake George, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Black Distance Sign: RD sign at Collector, probably installed in 1988 when the bypass opened, northbound, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands		Former Alignment: Former alignment (now Hadlow Dr) to the west of Lake George, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Wooden Bridge: Northbound approaching the town centre of Collector as you cross Collector Creek via an old wooden bridge, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands		Former Alignment: Former alignment (now Hadlow Dr) to the west of Lake George, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Old Roadhouse: Several businesses went bust when the highway was rerouted around Collector, such as this old Roadhouse in Shell and Golden Fleece branding colours, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands		Former Alignment: Former alignment (now Hadlow Dr) to the west of Lake George, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
			Brooks Creek: Old Federal Hwy (now Hadlow Dr) as it crosses Brooks Ck at Lake George, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
			Approaching Shingle Hill Way: Former Federal Hwy (Hadlow Dr) approaching Shingle Hill Way at Lake George, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
			Shingle Hill Way: Former Federal Hwy (Haldow Dr) at Lake George at the junction with Shingle Hill Way, January 2010. Note the yellow roadlines showing through. Image © Paul Rands
			Former Alignment: Old Federal Hwy at Bywong, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
			Former Alignment: Old Federal Hwy at Bywong, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
			Please Don't Litter Highways: Old non-reflective Please Don't Litter Highways sign at Bywong, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands
			Black Intersection Directional Sign: Black ID sign at the access point with the current alignment of Federal Hwy at Bywong, January 2010. Image © Paul Rands

1 The Roadmakers, published by the Department of Main Roads
2 Roads and Traffic Authority
3 Canberra & District Historical Society
4 Sam Laybutt (OzRoads)

Last updated: 17-Dec-2019 0:55

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