Highway in New South Wales
Cobb Highway
is a state highway in the
western Riverina
and the
far western
regions of
New South Wales
, with a short section in
Victoria
, Australia, designated part of route B75.
Initially an amalgam of
stock routes
, the 571-kilometre (355 mi)
[1]
highway extends from the Victorian border north across central New South Wales to
Wilcannia
, and was named in honour of the
Cobb and Co
stagecoach
company. The highway follows an old coach route through the Riverina, connecting the
Murray
,
Murrumbidgee
and
Lachlan
rivers, and across the intervening plains to the
Darling River
at Wilcannia. Cobb Highway also connects the
Barrier
,
Mid-Western
,
Sturt
, and
Riverina
highways.
Route
[
edit
]
From north to south, Cobb Highway begins at its junction with
Barrier Highway
near Wilcannia, and runs south through the townships of
Ivanhoe
,
Booligal
,
Hay
and
Deniliquin
. Its southern terminus is in Echuca, Victoria, at a
roundabout
located approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) southwest of
Moama
where the highway crosses the New South Wales?Victoria border at the Murray River and continues south as
Northern Highway
, also designated route B75.
The highway travels through diverse changes in scenery, from the Murray River, enclosed farming land in the Riverina, to open grazing land and semi-desert towards the middle and northern sections.
The speed limit is posted at 100 km/h (62 mph), except for three sections where the limit is 110 km/h (68 mph): 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Deniliquin until Hay, Hay until a few kilometres north of Booligal, and from just south of
Mossgiel
to Ivanhoe. It is a
sealed
single carriageway
for its entire length.
History
[
edit
]
The passing of the
Main Roads Act of 1924
[4]
through the
Parliament of New South Wales
provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (later the
Department of Main Roads
, and eventually
Transport for NSW
). Main Road No. 60 was declared along this road on 8 August 1928, from the bridge over the Murray River at Moama, via Deniliquin and Hay to the intersection with
Mid-Western Highway
at
Booligal
;
[2]
with the passing of the
Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929
[5]
to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, this was amended to Trunk Road 60 on 8 April 1929. When Mid-Western Highway was re-routed to run via Hay instead of Booligal on 24 September 1929, the declaration remained unchanged.
[6]
The
Department of Main Roads
, which had succeeded the New South Wales MRB in 1932, declared State Highway 21 on 16 March 1938, from the state border with Victoria on the Murray River at Moama via Deniliquin to the intersection with Sturt Highway near Hay, then from the intersection with Mid-Western Highway in Hay, via Booligal to the intersection with Barrier Highway south of Wilcannia, then from Wilcannia via White Cliffs, Cobham Lake, Milparkinka and Tibooburra to the state border with Queensland at Olive Downs, subsuming Trunk Road 60.
[3]
This was altered to run continuously through Hay, subsuming the small portion of Mid-Western Highway previously terminating at the intersection with Sturt Highway, on 12 January 1944; Mid-Western Highway was re-declared to terminate at the intersection with State Highway 21 in Hay as a result.
[7]
With the declaration of State Highway 22 (later
Silver City Highway
) subsuming the alignment between Cobham Lake and the state border with Queensland on 24 January 1945, its northern end was truncated to end at the intersection with Barrier Highway south of Wilcannia; the former alignment between Wilcannia via White Cliffs to Kayrunnera was declared as Main Road 435.
[8]
State Highway 21 was named
Cobb Highway
on 23 April 1947,
[9]
in honour of
Cobb and Co
, a company which ran a network of
stagecoaches
in inland Australia in the latter half of the 19th century and early in the 20th century.
[10]
The passing of the
Roads Act of 1993
[11]
through the
Parliament of New South Wales
updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Cobb Highway today retains its declaration as Highway 21, from the state border with Victoria at Moama via Deniliquin, Hay, Booligal and Ivanhoe to the intersection with Barrier Highway south of Wilcannia.
[12]
Cobb Highway was signed National Route 75 across its entire length in 1955. With the conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 2013, this was replaced with route B75.
[13]
Cobb Highway is part of a significant travelling
stock routes
network in New South Wales. The highway is the focus of a major tourism initiative entitled
The Long Paddock
, developed by the
shires
along the route (
Murray
,
Deniliquin
,
Conargo
,
Hay
and
Central Darling
).
The Long Paddock
project aims to develop sustainable communities along the Cobb Highway through the development of a dynamic cultural heritage touring route. The project uses the consistent theme of transportation, involving elements of history, creative interpretation and local environment, to link the communities along the highway.
[14]
Upgrades
[
edit
]
Bridges
[
edit
]
In May 1969 a bridge over the
Edward River
at Deniliquin was constructed (replacing a timber bridge built in 1895). In June 1973 a bridge over Murrumbidgee River at Hay was built (replacing the 1874 opening bridge).
[15]
A project to build an extra bridge over the Murray River linking Echuca and Moama commenced in late 2017 and concluded with its opening on 11 April 2022. The project had a total cost of $323.7 million, and was jointly funded by the Australian, Victorian and NSW governments.
[16]
Sealing
[
edit
]
In 2011, work began to seal the 132 km (82 mi) of the highway that remained unsealed.
[17]
Alongside concurrent works on the
Silver City Highway
, this was done as part of a $195 million project by the
NSW Government
to complete the sealing of the state's highway network. An official opening ceremony was held in November 2023 at the final section of highway to be sealed, near Halfway Tree between Wilcannia and Ivanhoe.
[10]
Major intersections
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Google
(15 August 2022).
"Cobb Highway"
(Map).
Google Maps
. Google
. Retrieved
15 August
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Main Roads Act, 1924-1927"
.
Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales
. No. 110. 17 August 1928. pp. 3814?20.
Archived
from the original on 3 August 2022
. Retrieved
1 August
2022
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
a
b
"Main Roads Act, 1924-1937"
.
Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales
. No. 46. National Library of Australia. 25 March 1938. p. 1223.
Archived
from the original on 6 September 2022
. Retrieved
6 September
2022
.
- ^
State of New South Wales,
An Act to provide for the better construction, maintenance, and financing of main roads; to provide for developmental roads; to constitute a Main Roads Board
Archived
11 August 2022 at the
Wayback Machine
10 November 1924
- ^
State of New South Wales,
An Act to amend the Main Roads Act, 1924-1927; to confer certain further powers upon the Main Roads Board; to amend the Local Government Act, 1919, and certain other Acts; to validate certain payments and other matters; and for purposes connected therewith.
Archived
12 August 2022 at the
Wayback Machine
8 April 1929
- ^
"Main Roads Act, 1924-1929"
.
Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales
. No. 132. National Library of Australia. 4 October 1929. p. 4084.
Archived
from the original on 26 August 2022
. Retrieved
26 August
2022
.
- ^
"Main Roads Act, 1924-1939"
.
Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales
. No. 8. National Library of Australia. 28 January 1944. p. 103.
Archived
from the original on 12 September 2022
. Retrieved
12 September
2022
.
- ^
"Main Roads Act, 1924-1939"
.
Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales
. No. 15. National Library of Australia. 9 February 1945. p. 271.
Archived
from the original on 12 September 2022
. Retrieved
12 September
2022
.
- ^
"Main Roads Act, 1924-1945"
.
Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales
. No. 56. National Library of Australia. 9 May 1947. pp. 1909?1.
Archived
from the original on 12 September 2022
. Retrieved
12 September
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Transport for NSW
(December 2023).
"Sealing the Cobb and Silver City highways"
(PDF)
.
Transport for NSW
.
NSW Government
.
- ^
State of New South Wales,
An Act to make provision with respect to the roads of New South Wales; to repeal the State Roads Act 1986, the Crown and Other Roads Act 1990 and certain other enactments; and for other purposes.
Archived
11 August 2022 at the
Wayback Machine
10 November 1924
- ^
Transport for NSW
(August 2022).
"Schedule of Classified Roads and Unclassified Regional Roads"
(PDF)
. Government of New South Wales. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 25 August 2022
. Retrieved
1 August
2022
.
- ^
"Road number and name changes in NSW"
(PDF)
.
Roads & Maritime Services
. Government of New South Wales. 2012. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 25 March 2016
. Retrieved
7 November
2016
.
- ^
The Long Paddock: Cobb Highway Touring Route
- ^
"National Route 75: Cobb Highway"
.
Ozroads: the Australian Roads website
. Retrieved
22 January
2007
.
[
self-published source
]
- ^
"Echuca-Moama Bridge Project"
.
Vicoria's Big Build
. Retrieved
22 February
2023
.
- ^
Transport for NSW
(January 2019).
"Sealing the Cobb and Silver City highways"
(PDF)
.
Transport for NSW
.
NSW Government
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 26 April 2021
. Retrieved
26 April
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"Echuca-Moama Bridge Project: Stage 3"
.
Vicoria's Big Build
. Retrieved
22 February
2023
.
External links
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