Home | Links | Search | Updates | FAQ | About | Contact Roads | Signals | Roadsigns | Towns & Cities | International | Publications | Sign Drawings

Pacific Highway, New England Highway, John Renshaw Drive, Southern Freeway, Mount Ousley Road & Princes Highway (National Route 1) (Decommissioned) - Historic Photos: South Grafton to Urunga

Statistics:

• Length: 1149 km (South Grafton to Urunga: 110 km)
  • Northern section: 668 km
  • Southern section: 481 km
• Northern Terminus:
  • Northern section: Gold Coast Highway (SR2) and Tugun Bypass (M1) at Tweed Heads West
  • Southern section: Princes Highway (Metroad 1) at Waterfall
• Southern Terminus:
  • Northern section: John Renshaw Drive (NH1) and New England Highway (NH15) at Beresfield
  • Southern section: Princes Highway (A1) at New South Wales / Victoria border
• Miscellaneous: Continues as Princes Highway (A1) in Victoria
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along The Route:
  • Northern section: Clarenza, Glenugie, Halfway Creek, Corindi Beach, Arrawarra, Woolgoolga, Sandy Beach, Emerald Beach, Moonee Beach, Sapphire Beach, Korora, Coffs Harbour, Boambee East, Bonville and Raleigh

Route Numbering:

• Former:
• Road Authority Internal Classification: SH10 (Tweed Heads West to Hexham) 1
• Decommissioned: 2013

General Information:

National Route 1 forms part of the main coastal route between Victoria and Queensland. The route features a mix of rural highway, arterial and freeway design standards. The route forms part of what is collectively known as Highway 1. It is Australia's coastal highway joining all mainland's state capitals and coastal towns circumnavigating the entire Australian continent. It is also the longest numbered highway in the world, covering more than 14 500 km.

In New South Wales, National Route 1 was truncated by National Highway 1 between Beresfield and Wahroonga, by Metroad 1 between Wahroonga and Waterfall and by M1 at Tweed Heads West.

Northern Section:

The northern section of National Route 1 took in a small section of New England Highway and the rest was made up by the Pacific Highway. The route varies from dual carriageway arterial and highway standard, to motorway standard and the rest is generally undivided rural highway conditions. The Pacific Highway is very well trafficked, and as a result notorious for a large amount of road trauma within the state. These crashes have resulted in more than 50% of the route being divided since the late 1980s.

• Pacific Highway:

The Pacific Highway section of NR1 runs between Brunswick Heads and Hexham, and also between Wahroonga and the Gore Hill Freeway at Artarmon. The northern section between Brunswick Heads and Hexham is a mix of dual carriageway, rural highway and urban arterial roadway. The southern section between Wahroonga and Artarmon is urban arterial standard and passes through one of Sydney's more affluent areas.

The highway traces its origins back to an early settler, George Peat, who owned the land between the Hawkesbury River and Mooney Mooney Creek. To provide access to his property, Peat began a ferry service across the Hawkesbury River in 1844 and surveyed, then constructed a road between Hornsby and Kariong in 1854. After his death in 1870, the ferry service was abandoned and the road fell into disrepair, finally closing to all traffic in 1899, following the completion of the Sydney-Newcastle railway.

Demand for a route between Sydney and Newcastle dates back to the early 20th century. When the only access was via the sea or via a long route through the town of Wiseman's Ferry. In the 1920s, the then Main Roads Board undertook a series of surveys to form an easier and more reliable route north from Sydney. In 1928 construction began on upgrading the old road and converting it to a modern standard, plus creating  a new route north, utilising some of the abandoned Peat's Ferry Rd, while improving the horizontal and vertical alignments. In May 1930 the ferry service across the Hawkesbury River was re-established to service the new road until such times that a bridge became necessary. June 1930 marked the completion of the concrete surfacing.

During the time of the Hornsby to Gosford contruction, improvements were made to roads between Gosford to Newcastle as part of the link. On May 17 in 1929, the route was named as the Great Northern Highway. The work from Hornsby to Gosford cost almost £1 million, however it was money well spent, reducing the trip from Sydney to Newcastle from 9 hours to 4 ½ hours.

History:

Pacific Highway:

• 1930s: Construction of bridges along the Pacific Highway. Bridges were built over the Nambucca, Bellinger, Tweed and Clarence Rivers. 2
• 1933: Elimination of dangerous curves in the Raleigh area. 3
• 1934: South of Urunga, a deviation 1.8 km long was commenced to eliminate a section known as the Long Cutting. 4
• 1935: Long Cutting Deviation south of Urunga opened to traffic. A further deviation 6200 feet long at the Short Cut between Urunga and Raleigh also completed. 5
• 1939: By this time, two thirds of the Pacific Highway was bitumen paved. 2
• November 1946: Reconstruction of the Pacific Highway between Raleigh and Coff's Harbour was commenced. Approximately 12 miles of the Highway were reconstructed with a bituminous surface. 6
• 1951: Construction of reinforced concrete bridge over Bom Bom Creek and culvert in one approach at South Grafton. Total length 150 feet. Construction of concrete bridge over Glenugie Creek near South Grafton. 7
• 1954: Construction of reinforced concrete bridge over Glenugie Creek 8 miles south of Grafton. Length 240 feet. 8
• 1955: Work began on a reinforced concrete bridge over Glenugie Creek 8 miles south of South Grafton. Length 240 feet. 8
• 1956: Completion of reinforced concrete bridge over Glenugie Creek, 8 miles south of South Grafton. Length 240 ft. Completion of reinforced concrete bridge over McPhillips Creek, 4 miles south of South Grafton. Length 60 ft. 543 miles out of 574 miles of Pacific now with a bitumen surface. 9
• 1958: The bitumen surfacing of the Pacific Highway (576 miles in length) was completed. 10
• 1961: Work started on a four-span steel girder and reinforced concrete bridge 180 feet long over Bonville Ck at Bonville. It replaced an old timber structure. 11
• 1967: Construction of approaches to a new bridge at Cassons Creek near Corindi Beach was completed. 12
• 1968: Construction of a deviation at Korora was commenced. 13
• 1971: A deviation to the north of Coffs Harbour at Korora, which replaced a section of narrow pavement on sub-standard alignment, was opened to traffic. Channelisation completed at Pacific Highway & West High Street (Coramba Road) at Coffs Harbour (in conjunction with traffic signals). 14
• 1975: Completion of construction at Coffs Harbour at the site of the a replacement railway overbridge. Reconstruction from Emerald Beach and Sandy Beach was opened to traffic. 15
• 1976: Completion of the reconstruction and widening to provide dual carriageways immediately north of Coffs Harbour CBD. Reconstruction was completed and construction of a deviation at Double Crossing Creek at Emerald Beach. 16
• 1977: Channelisation of the junction of Pacific Highway and North Sapphire Beach Road, Coffs Harbour. Reconstruction of the approach to Raleigh Bridge was completed at Raleigh. Strengthening of existing pavement and provision of a northbound climbing lane was completed near Repton at Perrys Hill. Work was completed on the road approaches and two cell reinforced concrete box culvert at Boambee Flood Channel. Sections of Pacific Highway converted to Priority Road from Wang Wauk River to Nambucca Heads (236 km). 17
• 1970s: In a bid to prevent ribbon development, the Pacific Highway north of Coffs Harbour was proclaimed a Motorway, thus controlling the number and location of access points and indiscriminate frontage development. 2
• January 1995: Construction starts on the Raleigh Deviation. 18
• January 1997: Work starts on the Korora Hill Reconstruction, 5 km north of Coffs Harbour. 19
• 7 November 1997: The Waterfall Way overbridge within the Raleigh Deviation, was officially opened to traffic. 20
• 15 December 1997: Korora Hill Reconstruction opened to traffic. The 1.5km upgrade of the Pacific Highway to four lanes extends between Bruxner Park Road and the Old Coast Road at Korora Hill, 5 km north of Coffs Harbour. Work involved widening and reconstruction to provide a four lane divided road with a landscaped median strip. Work also included a replacement footbridge over the highway outside Kororo Publc School. The bridge was named after a local school student, Luke Bowen, who was involved in a tragic accident on the day prior to the opening of the footbridge. 19
• 17 September 1998: Raleigh Deviation opened to traffic. The Raleigh Deviation upgrade provides 8km of divided carriageway between the Kalang River near Urunga and Pine Creek State Forest. The project included construction of major twin bridges over the Bellinger River. New bridges were also built at Boggy Creek, Man Arm Creek, Waterfall Way, and North Bank and Valery Roads. 18
• August 2000: The 0.8 kilometre upgrade of the Pacific Highway to dual carriageways between Bray and Arthur Streets, Coffs Harbour opened to traffic. 21
• May 2001: The 5.3 kilometre dual carriageway upgrade of the Pacific Highway between Lyons Road and Englands Road opened to traffic. 22
• May 2004: Halfway Creek realignment and duplication opened to traffic. 3.4 km in length, the upgrade included new access to roadhouse and realignment of the highway and an additional carriageway. 23
• November 2006: Construction started on Bonville upgrade to Pacific Hwy. 24
• September 2008: Bonville upgrade was officially opened to traffic. There are 19 bridges on the project with a combined length of 1.2 kilometres. The longest bridges are over Bonville Creek and are 164 metres. 24
• 31 October 2011: Traffic in both directions shifted to upgraded and new carriageways as part of the 2.5 km Glenugie upgrade. Part of the works included a new southbound carriageway as well as realignment where required. 25

This page concentrates on historic photos between South Grafton and Urunga

Preview:	Description:
	North Arm of Bellinger River: Steel truss bridge with concrete piers and deck over North Arm of Bellinger River at Raleight, 1935. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Between Bonville and Coffs Harbour: Construction in progress between Bonville and Coffs Harbour, 1947. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Middle Boambee Creek: Reinforced concrete bridge over Middle Boambee Creek at Boambee, 1948. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Between Repton and Coffs Harbour: Construction between Repton and Coffs Harbour, most likely Bonville, 1948. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Coffs Harbour Creek: Reinforced concrete bridge over Coffs Harbour Creek, with old road in foreground, Coffs Harbour, 1948. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Bom Bom Creek: New reinforced concrete bridge over Bom Bom Creek on the Pacific Highway, South Grafton, 1952. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Emerald Beach: Pacific Hwy, 10 miles north of Coffs Harbour, 1970. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Clybucca, approaching Plummers Ln, 1971. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Korora: Footbridge in the Korora area, 1971. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Raleigh, approaching what is now Waterfall Way, 1971. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Sapphire Beach: The then recently completed deviation of the Pacific Hwy at Sapphire Beach, designed to eliminate many low radius curves there area once had, 1971. Image © Department of Main Roads

1 Roads and Traffic Authority, Schedule of Classified Roads and State & Regional Roads, 31 January 2011
2 RTA Thematic History, 2nd Edition, 2006
3 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1932-33
4 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1933-34
5 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1934-35
6 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1946-47
7 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1951-52
8 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1954-55
9 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1955-56
10 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1957-58
11 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1960-61
12 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1966-67
13 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1968-69
14 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1970-71
15 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1974-75
16 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1976-77
17 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1977-78
18 Roads and Maritime Services, Projects, Pacific Highway Upgrade, Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour, Completed Projects, Raleigh Deviation
19 Roads and Maritime Services, Projects, Pacific Highway Upgrade, Coffs Harbour to Ballina, Completed Projects, Project Fact Sheet, Korora Hill Reconstruction
20 Roads and Maritime Services, Project Fact Sheet, Raleigh Deviation
21 Roads and Maritime Services, Projects, Pacific Highway Upgrade, Coffs Harbour to Ballina, Completed Projects, Bray - Arthur St, Coffs Harbour
22 Roads and Maritime Services, Projects, Pacific Highway Upgrade, Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour, Completed Projects, Lyons Rd - Englands Rd Duals
23 Roads and Maritime Services, Projects, Pacific Highway Upgrade, Coffs Harbour to Ballina, Completed Projects, Halfway Creek
24 Roads and Maritime Services, Projects, Pacific Highway Upgrade, Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour, Completed Projects, Bonville Upgrade
25 Roads and Maritime Services, Projects, Pacific Highway Upgrade, Coffs Harbour to Ballina, Completed Projects, Glenugie Upgrade

Last updated: 18-Dec-2019 10:13

This site © Paul Rands. All rights reserved. Some portions © (copyright) by their respective and credited owners. Permission must be obtained before using any images from this site. For details, please email by clicking here.