Road Photos & Information: New South Wales: Camden Valley Way, Argyle Street, Broughton Street, Murray Street, Old Hume Highway, Remembrance Drive & Thirlmere Way (Tourist Drive 12)

Road Photos & Information: New South Wales

Camden Valley Way, Argyle Street, Broughton Street, Murray Street, Old Hume Highway, Remembrance Drive & Thirlmere Way (Tourist Drive 12)

Statistics:

Length: 79 km
Northern Terminus: Hume Hwy (Metroad 5) (South Westen Fwy) at Prestons
Southern Terminus: Hume Hwy (NH31) at Alpine
Suburbs, Towns & Localities along route: Prestons, Leppington, Catherine Field, Narellan, Camden, Razorback, Picton, Thirlmere, Couridjah, Bargo, Yanderra, Yerrinbool and Alpine.

Route Numbering:

Current:
Multiplexed with:
Former:

General Information:

Tourist Drive 12 is located in southwestern Sydney and the NSW Southern Highlands. It mostly follows the old Hume Highway corridor (some of which is now SR89) that was bypassed some years ago, taking in numerous historically significant areas along its route.

The former Hume Highway alignment is between Prestons and Alpine near Mittagong. However there is a deviation between Picton and Bargo, with the route passing through the town of Thirlmere instead of following the old Hume Hwy route.

The Hume Highway section of the route has a very big history, which goes back to the the first road south from Sydney, known as the Great South Road, which was formed in the 1800s. Some sections of the route still utilise the concrete pavement laid in the 1920s and 30s.

Along TD12, you can access old alignments of Old South Road and other former Hume Highway alignments, these include:

Ironbark Avenue Camden
Cawdor Road from Camden to Picton
Old Razorback Road between Cawdor near Camden and Picton
Great Southern Road at Bargo
Old Southern Road at Yerrinbool
Old South Road at Alpine

History:

1914: Sydney-Melbourne road (Great South Road) is declared a main road
1928: Sections of Great South Road renamed to Hume Highway
1940: Hume Highway is (mostly) paved
1950s: In 1952, a group of citizens met and formed a committee under Lt-General Sir Frank Berryman to create a national memorial to servicemen by using trees and shrubs as living memorials. The NSW Premier, J J Cahill, officially launched the scheme on 9 December 1953. The Remembrance Driveway project as it was called started on 5 February 1954, when trees were planted at either end of the Driveway at the War Memorial, Canberra, and in Macquarie Place, Sydney, by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. By June 1959, 10,000 trees had been planted. Since then, planting of trees in avenues or groves has continued. When the M5 Motorway replaced the Hume Highway (and also Camden Valley Way) south of Liverpool, it became the focus for planting trees and shrubs in remembrance. 1
1959: an experiment using advisory speed signs on curves on the Hume Highway between Camden and Berrima was successful and was extended to other roads. 1
1970s: Construction of high standard 4 lane freeway between Campbelltown and Prestons, DMR also built another high standard 4 lane road between Bargo and Alpine (near Mittagong)
1973: Opening of the 1km long Macarthur Bridge over the Nepean River at Elderslie and Camden
26 October 1973: A six mile (9.7 km) section of the South Western Freeway (formerly F5, now Hume Hwy (Metroad 5)) from Cross Roads to Raby Road opened. 1
1974: South Western Freeway extended to Narellan Road near Campbelltown.
May 1977: South Western Freeway between Yanderra and Alpine opens to traffic. SR89 designation given to the route when the Hume Highway was moved to the South Western Freeway
December 2005: work was completed to upgrade Camden Valley Way to four lanes between the M7 interchange and Bernera Road, Prestons 1
2006: upgrade at the intersection of Camden Valley Way and Raby Road at Catherine Field 1
2007: funding allocated to continue upgrading Camden Valley Way to four-lanes between Bernera Road, Prestons and Narellan Road, Narellan 1
December 2007: Roundabout construction work completed at the intersection of Castlereagh St and Thirlmere Way. Four new Pram Ramps, one layback and 51m kerb have been built. 2

Prestons to Picton:	Picton to Alpine:

Preview:	Description:
	Camden Bypass & Old Hume Highway Intesection: Looking northeast at Camden South, December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Old Hume Highway: Northbound on the Old Hume Highway at Camden, near Ironbark Avenue, which also was once the highway. December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Northbound at Camden: Approaching the pedestrian crossing near the Primary School, December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Menangle Road Intersection: Looking north at the Menangle Road intersection at Camden. Menangle Road also once formed part of the Hume Highway. December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Broughton Street: Northbound on Broughton Street outside Camden Hospital, December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Approaching Murray & Broughton Streets Intersection: Broughton Street travels off to the right and through traffic travels along Murray Street, December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Northbound approaching Argyle Street: Taken December 2005 as you approach Argyle Street, the main street of Camden. Image © Paul Rands
	Argyle Street Camden: Looking northeast through the Camden CBD. December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	John Street Roundabout: Looking northeast at the John Street intersection as you move along Argyle Street Camden. December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Approaching the Elizabeth Street Intersection: Heading northeast on Argyle Street Camden, again this was once the Hume Highway. December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Eastbound at Camden: Looking easterly on Camden Valley Way as you pass Kirkham Estate Wines, December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Cowpasture Bridge: Looking northwest as you cross the Nepean River at Camden, December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Looking Northwest at Elderslie: Heading along Camden Valley Way, near the numerous parklands in the area, December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Looking Northwest at Elderslie: Heading along Camden Valley Way, near the numerous parklands in the area, December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Kirkham: Passing through Kirkham as you head northeast near the Camden Golf Course, December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Kirkham: Passing through Kirkham as you head northeast near the Camden Golf Course, December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Narellan: Approaching the intersecton View Drive and Wilson Crescent at Narellan as you travel along Camden Valley Way, December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Intersection with Graham's Hill Road and Richardson Road: Heading northeast through Narellan, December 2005. Image © Paul Rands
	Old Northern Road Approach: Approaching the intersection of Camden Valley Way and Old Northern Road (former Metroad 9 and SR69) at Narellan, December 2005. This sign has since been removed, with the intersection of the Northern Road no longer dog-legging through Narellan. Click here for a photo from December 2005 of the previous sign. Image © Paul Rands
	Old Northern Road: Corner of Camden Valley Way (TD12), The Old Northern Rd and the entrance to Narellan Town Centre shopping mall, December 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	Intersection Directional Sign: ID sign facing The Old Northern Rd at Narellan, December 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign near Somerset Avenue in Narellan for the junction with The Northern Road (Metroad9) and Narellan Road (Metroad 9), December 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	Somerset Avenue: Camden Valley Way (TD12) as it makes its way through Narellan near Somerset Av, December 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	The Northern Road & Narellan Road: Corner of Camden Valley Way (TD12), The Northern Road (Metroad 9) and Narellan Road (Metroad 9), December 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	The Northern Road & Narellan Road: Corner of Camden Valley Way (TD12), The Northern Road (Metroad 9) and Narellan Road (Metroad 9), December 2009. Image © Paul Rands

1 Roads and Traffic Authority
2 Wollondilly Shire

Last updated: 08 Nov 2019 01:09

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