Western Highway (Victoria)

Western Highway

Western Freeway

Coordinates
General information
TypeHighway
Length419 km (260 mi)[3]
GazettedDecember 1913 (as Main Road)[1]
July 1925 (as State Highway)[2]
Route number(s)
  • A8 (2013–present)
    (VIC/SA border–Buangor)
  • M8 (2013–present)
    (Buangor–Derrimut)
Former
route number
  • National Highway A8 (1997–2013)
    (VIC/SA border–Burrumbeet)
  • National Highway M8 (1997–2013)
    (Burrumbeet–Derrimut)
  • National Highway 8 (1974–1997)
    (VIC/SA border–Deer Park)
  • National Route 8 (1955–1974)
    (VIC/SA border–Deer Park)
Major junctions
West end Dukes Highway
VIC/SA border
 
East end Western Ring Road
Derrimut, Melbourne
Location(s)
RegionGrampians, Greater Melbourne[4]
Major settlementsNhill, Dimboola, Horsham, Stawell, Ararat, Beaufort, Ballarat, Ballan, Bacchus Marsh, Melton, Rockbank, Caroline Springs
Highway system
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Western Highway is a major arterial route in western Victoria with a length of approximately 258 kilometres (160 mi) of single carriageway, then 161 kilometres (100 mi) of dual carriageway known as Western Freeway, linking the western suburbs of Melbourne to the border with South Australia at Serviceton.[5][6] It is the Victorian part of the principal route linking the Australian cities of Melbourne and Adelaide, and is a part of the National Highway network, designated routes A8 and M8. The western end continues into South Australia as Dukes Highway, the next section of the Melbourne–Adelaide National Highway.

Western Highway is the second-busiest national highway in Australia, in terms of freight movements, with over five million tonnes annually, and provides the link between the eastern seaboard and South Australia and Western Australia.

  1. ^ "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 28 January 1914. p. 320. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Country Roads Board Victoria. Twelfth Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1925". Country Roads Board of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 31 December 1925. p. 3.
  3. ^ "Western Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Victoria's Regions". Regional Development Victoria. Victoria State Government. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference vicreg-wh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference vicreg-wf was invoked but never defined (see the help page).