Road Photos & Information: New South Wales: Pacific Highway, New England Highway, John Renshaw Drive, Southern Freeway, Mount Ousley Road & Princes Highway (National Route 1) (Decommissioned)

Road Photos & Information: New South Wales

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

Statistics:

Length: 1149 km
- Northern section: 668 km (Karuah to Beresfield: 37 km)
Northern Terminus:
- Northern section: Gold Coast Highway (SR2) and Tugun Bypass (M1) at Tweed Heads West
Southern Terminus:
- Northern section: John Renshaw Drive (NR1) and New England Highway (NH15) at Beresfield
Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along The Route:
- Northern section: Twelve Mile Creek, Balickera, Raymond Terrace, Heatherbrae, Tomago, Hexham and Beresfield

Route Numbering:

Former:
Road Authority Internal Classification: SH9 (Hexham to Beresfield) and 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 construction, 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.

John Renshaw Drive:

This road links the Pacific Highway and New England Highway with the Pacific Motorway between Beresfield and Tarro, west of Hexham, and consists entirely of dual carriageway. The road is named after the Hon. J. B. Renshaw, M.L.A., who, during the 1950s, was Minister for Local Government and Minister for Highways.

History:

Pacific Highway:

1931: Great Northern Highway and the North Coast Highway were grouped together and renamed the Pacific Highway. 2
1939: By this time, two thirds of the Pacific Highway was bitumen paved. 3
February 1946: Construction begins on the bridge over the Hunter River at Hexham. The bridge features a vertical lift span, and total length of the bridge is 843 feet and 4 inches. 4
1950s: Shortening of the Pacific Highway between Raymond Terrace and Taree. 3
1951: Construction commenced on deviation of Pacific Highway near Hexham railway station, work also included construction of the approaches to the Hexham Bridge over the Hunter River. 5
17 December 1952: The bridge over the Hunter River at Hexham opened to traffic. 6
1956: 543 miles out of 574 miles of Pacific now with a bitumen surface. 7
1958: The bitumen surfacing of the Pacific Highway (576 miles in length) was completed. 8
1960: Work on a five-span steel girder and reinforced concrete divided carriageway bridge 320 feet long over Ironbark Creek started at Hexham. This bridge replaced a temporary five-span steel girder bridge. 9
1961: Between Newcastle and Hexham, a four-lane divided carriageway was provided over a total length of 2.6 miles. The work was carried out in two sections; a length of 1.5 miles between Maud Street, Mayfield and Ferry Road, Sandgate, and a length of 1.1 miles south from the junction with the New England Highway. At the junction of the Pacific Highway and the New England Highway, work was carried out on the channelisation of the intersection. Work started on a three-span pre-stressed concrete deck bridge 115 feet long over what was then the new water supply channel (Balickera Channel about 8 miles north of Raymond Terrace. 10
1962: Four lane bridge over Ironbark Creek at Hexham opened to traffic. Completion of channelisation works at New England Highway and Pacific Highway junction at Hexham. 11
24 December 1963: The new route of the Pacific Highway between Twelve Mile Creek and Taree was completed with the opening to traffic of the section between Karuah and Bulahdelah. The section was designed for speeds of 50 miles per hour. The pavement width is 24 feet and featured a dustless surface. The new route allowed traffic to travel from Newcastle to Taree in about 2 hours 30 minutes compared with 3 hours 10 minutes on the old route (now Bucketts Way). 12
1965: Pavement widening to 24 ft. was completed between Raymond Terrace and Windeyer's Creek. Widening and reconstruction between Twelve Mile Creek, 6 miles south of Karuah and Karuah completed. 13
1966: Reconstruction from Wallsend Road to Sandgate, which provided a continuous divided carriageway from Maude Street, Mayfield, to Ironbark Creek, a distance of approximately 3 miles. Work began on a divided carriageway between Ash Island Bridge and the Hexham deviation. Construction of a passing lane and improvement of the intersection of the highway with Richardson Road, one mile north of Raymond Terrace, completed. 14
1967: Divided carriageways on Pacific Highway between Vincent and South Streets, North Belmont and between Maud Street, Mayfield West and the junction with the New England Highway at Hexham. A levee bank was constructed on the eastern side of the highway just north of the junction with the Pacific Highway at Hexham. The levee bank was constructed to control the flow of water from the Hunter River during flooding. Continuous divided carriageways were completed between Maud Street and the junction with the New England Highway, 4.7 to 10.0 miles north of Newcastle. On behalf of the Department, Newcastle City Council completed reconstruction of the section between Wallsend Road and Radio Station 2HD. The Department completed construction of a half-mile length between Ironbark Creek and Hexham. Reconstruction raised this length of the road by approximately two feet, which reduced flooding of the highway by the Hunter River. A commencement was made on the relocation of the highway north of Raymond Terrace to raise the road above the level of water in the Hunter District Water Board's storage reservoir at Grahamstown. 15
March 1968: A deviation north of Raymond Terrace, near the Grahamstown Water Supply, was opened to traffic. 16
1970: Reconstruction was completed for a distance of 2.3 miles from Grahamstown Lake Deviation to Balickera Channel.
1971: Channelisation completed at Pacific Highway & Anderson Drive at Beresfield. 17
1974: Reconstruction and bitumen surfacing 7.3 metres wide from Balikera Channel to Twelve Mile Creek, near Raymond Terrace, was commenced. 18
1977: Construction of a deceleration lane, median, kerb and storage lanes was completed from 1 km west of Wallsend Road and Ironbark Creek at Sandgate. Sections of Pacific Highway converted to Priority Road: Parkway Road Swansea to Stewart Avenue at Newcastle, New England Highway at Hexham to to Wang Wauk River (116 km), Pacific Highway from Nambucca Heads to Queensland Border (366 km) and Pacific Highway from Wang Wauk River to Nambucca Heads (236 km). 19
1983: Duplication begins of Hexham Bridge at Hexham.
November 1993: Construction of the Raymond Terrace Bypass commenced. 20
December 1994: The first stage of the Bangalow Bypass was opened to traffic. This was a single carriageway with overtaking lanes for both northbound and southbound traffic. 21
1990s: The Tarro and John Renshaw Drive Interchanges on New England Highway were opened to traffic.
August 1998: Construction of the Raymond Terrace to Karuah Upgrade commenced. 22
17 December 1998: Raymond Terrace Bypass opened to traffic. The upgrade provides a 7.6km divided dual carriageway bypass of Raymond Terrace, and starts just south of Masonite Road at Heatherbrae and extends northwards near Rangers Road. 20 Duplication of Eungai Deviation opens to traffic, with new southbound carriageway commencing operation. 23
August 1998: Construction of the Raymond Terrace to Karuah Upgrade commenced. 24
1 December 2000: Raymond Terrace to Karuah Upgrade opened to traffic. The upgrade provides 18km of dual carriageway conditions and continues north from the Raymond Terrace Bypass. The project extends from the northern end of the Raymond Terrace Bypass near Rangers Road to a point 1.5km south of the entrance to the Karuah Golf Club. A new northbound carriageway was constructed to the west of the old Highway, with the old highway reconstructed to form the new southbound carriageway. 25

New England Highway:

1993: National Highway 15 replaced by National Route 1 between Tarro and Hexham.
2013: National Route 1 replaced by A1 and duplexed with A43.

John Renshaw Drive:

1993: The extension of the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway (NH1) was brought through to Beresfield, requiring a link from NH1 to NR1. John Renshaw Drive was used for the link.

This page concentrates on historic photos of Pacific Highway between Karuah and Raymond Terrace.

Preview:	Description:
	Iron Bark Creek: New bridge and approaches at Iron Bark Creek, near Hexham, 1938. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Hexham Bridge: Construction progress of steel and reinforced concrete bridge over Hunter River at Hexham, 1950. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Floating Span Into Position: Floating span number 5 into position on the steel and reinforced concrete bridge over Hunter River at Hexham, 1952. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Hexham Bridge: Steel and reinforced concrete bridge over Hunter River at Hexham, 1953. Opened to traffic 17th December 1952. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Windeyers Creek: Reinforced concrete bridge over Windeyers Creek near Raymond Terrace, 1955. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Ironbark Creek: Twin steel and concrete bridges over Ironbark Creek between Sandgate and Hexham on the Pacific Hwy, 1962. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Dual Carriageway: Dual carriageways on the Pacific Highway between Ash Island and Hexham, 1967. Image © Department of Main Roads
	North of Raymond Terrace: Completed reconstruction and bituminous surfacing on the Pacific Highway, 11 km north of Raymond Terrace, 1975. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Hexham Bridge Second Crossing: Construction of the northbound bridge over Hunter River at Hexham, 1983. Image © Department of Main Roads
	Hexham Bridge Second Crossing: Construction of the northbound bridge over Hunter River at Hexham, 1987. Image © Department of Main Roads

1 Roads and Traffic Authority, Schedule of Classified Roads and State & Regional Roads, 31 January 2011
2 Main Roads Board, Annual Report, 1930-31
3 RTA Thematic History, 2nd Edition, 2006
4 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1946-47
5 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1951-52
6 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1952-53
7 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1955-56
8 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1957-58
9 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1959-60
10 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1960-61
11 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1961-62
12 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1963-64
13 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1964-65
14 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1965-66
15 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1966-67
16 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1967-68
17 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1970-71
18 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1973-74
19 Department of Main Roads, Annual Report, 1977-78
20 Roads and Maritime Services, Projects, Pacific Highway Upgrade, Hexham to Port Macquarie, Completed Projects, Raymond Terrace Bypass
21 Roads and Maritime Services, Project Fact Sheet, Bangalow Bypass
22 Roads and Maritime Services, Projects, Pacific Highway Upgrade, Hexham to Port Macquarie, Completed Projects, Taree Bypass
23 Roads and Maritime Services, Projects, Pacific Highway Upgrade, Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour, Completed Projects, Eungai Deviation
24 Roads and Maritime Services, Projects, Pacific Highway Upgrade, Hexham to Port Macquarie, Completed Projects, Raymond Terrace to Karuah
25 Roads and Maritime Services, Projects, Pacific Highway Upgrade, Hexham to Port Macquarie, Completed Projects, Raymond Terrace to Karuah

Last updated: 12-Jul-2019 0:13

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