Alpine Way is a 121-kilometre (75 mi) rural road located in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The road connects Jindabyne in the east to the New South Wales-Victorian border in the west, crossing the Murray River near Bringenbrong and Upper Towong.
Alpine Way | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Alpine Way, near Thredbo | |
  East end West end | |
| Coordinates | |
| General information | |
| Type | Rural road |
| Length | 121.3 km (75 mi)[1] |
| Gazetted | January 1993[2] |
| Major junctions | |
| East end | Kosciuszko Road Jindabyne, New South Wales |
| |
| West end |  Murray Valley HighwayNSW/VIC border |
| Location(s) | |
| Major settlements | Thredbo, Khancoban |
| Restrictions | |
| General | Carrying snow chains may be required at certain times of the year. |
| Highway system | |
Route
editAlpine Way commences at the intersection with Kosciuszko Road in Jindabyne, on the eastern side of the Snowy Mountains, and heads in a south-westerly direction, adjacent to the Thredbo River and eventually past Thredbo. It then climbs and crosses the crest of the Great Dividing Range at Dead Horse Gap at an altitude of 1,580 metres (5,180 ft), then winds a descent down to and eventually crosses Snowy Creek at Murray Gorge at an altitude of 580 metres (1,900 ft), very close to the Murray River. Thereafter, it continues in a northerly direction around the western side of the range along the upper reaches of the Murray River Tributaries, crossing the Swampy Plain River at Geehi Hut and continuing northwards to Khancoban. It then heads in a northwesterly direction to eventually cross the Murray River and terminate at Murray Valley Highway on the river's southern bank, within Victoria.[3]
The majority of the road is contained within Kosciuszko National Park[4] and since 2004 has been maintained by Roads & Maritime Services.[5][6]
Road restrictions
editRoad restrictions in the region require all two-wheel drive vehicles carry snow chains between Thredbo and Tom Groggin from the long weekends marking the King's Official Birthday in June and the Labour Day in October. It is also quite possible that snow chains may be needed to drive safely along other (more dangerous) parts of Alpine Way.[7][8]
History
editThe road was initially built in the 1950s as part of the access for the Snowy Mountains Scheme. However, the paving of it was only completed approximately forty years later in the 1990s.
The Roads and Traffic Authority declared Main Road 627 along the western portion of Alpine Way, from the border with Victoria along Murray River in Bringenbrong through Khancoban to the western boundary of Kosciuszko National Park to its east, on 15 January 1993.[2] Main Road 677 was declared along the eastern portion of Alpine Way, from Jindabyne to the eastern boundary of Kosciuszko National Park at Bullocks Flat, on 31 October 1997;[9] this was extended west along the remaining section of Alpine Way to the western boundary of Kosciuszko National Park east of Khancoban on 17 May 2004.[10]
The passing of the Roads Act of 1993[11] updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Alpine Way retains its declaration as Main Roads 627 and 677.[12]
Major intersections
edit| State | LGA | Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | Snowy Monaro | Jindabyne | 0.0 | 0.0 | Kosciuszko Road – Charlotte Pass, Berridale, Cooma | Eastern terminus of Alpine Way |
| Little Thredbo River | 16.8 | 10.4 | Bridge (no known official name) | |||
| Snowy Monaro | Thredbo | 32.0 | 19.9 | Banjo Drive – Thredbo | ||
| Thredbo River | 36.2 | 22.5 | Bridge (no known official name) | |||
| Snowy Creek | 54.8 | 34.1 | Bridge (no known official name) | |||
| Snowy Valleys | Geehi | 75.7 | 47.0 | Behrs Flat Track – Geehi Hut | ||
| Swampy Plain River | 75.8 | 47.1 | Bridge (no known official name) | |||
| Snowy Valleys | Khancoban | 106.9 | 66.4 | Scammel Street – Khancoban | ||
| 113.0 | 70.2 | Swampy Plains River Road – Cabramurra, Kiandra | ||||
| Bringenbrong | 119.2 | 74.1 | Tooma Road – Tooma, Tumbarumba | |||
| 121.3 | 75.4 | Alpine Way – Tooma, Tumbarumba | Western terminus of Alpine Way | |||
| Murray River | Bringenbrong Bridge | |||||
| State border | New South Wales – Victoria state border | |||||
| Victoria | Towong | Towong–Upper Towong boundary | Murray Valley Highway (B400) – Corryong, Wodonga, Swan Hill | Eastern terminus of Murray Valley Highway, route B400 continues west | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| ||||||
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b "Alpine Way" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ a b "State Roads Act". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 5. National Library of Australia. 15 January 1993. p. 125. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ "Kosciuszko Alpine Way". Destination NSW. Government of New South Wales. 2016. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
- ^ "Kosciuszko – Alpine Way drive". NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Government of New South Wales. 2016. Archived from the original on 19 November 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
- ^ "Schedule of Classified Roads and Unclassified Regional Roads" (PDF). Roads & Maritime Services. Government of New South Wales. January 2014. p. 27. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
- ^ "Annual Report 2004" (PDF). Roads & Traffic Authority. Government of New South Wales. 2004. p. 95. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
- ^ "Driving in the snow". NSW Environment and Heritage. Government of New South Wales. 9 July 2011. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013.
- ^ "Kosciuszko – Alpine Way drive: Getting there and parking". NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Government of New South Wales. 2016. Archived from the original on 19 November 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
- ^ "State Roads Act". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 117. National Library of Australia. 31 October 1997. p. 8874. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ "Roads Act 1993" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 85. Legislation NSW. 17 May 2004. pp. 2905–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ 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.