Western Highway Western Freeway Victoria
General information
Type	Highway
Length	419 km (260 mi) [1]
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
	Borung Highway Henty Highway Wimmera Highway Pyrenees Highway Sunraysia Highway Midland Highway Melton Highway Ballarat Road
East end	Western Ring Road Derrimut, Melbourne
Location(s)
Major settlements	Nhill, Dimboola, Horsham, Stawell, Ararat, Beaufort, Ballarat, Ballan, Bacchus Marsh, Melton, Rockbank, Caroline Springs
Highway system
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in Victoria

The Western Highway is the Victorian part of the principal route linking the Australian cities of Melbourne and Adelaide, with a length of approximately 258 kilometres (160 mi) of single carriageway, then 161 kilometres (100 mi) of dual carriageway known as the Western Freeway. It is a part of the National Highway network and designated routes A8 and M8. The western end continues into South Australia as the Dukes Highway, the next section of the Melbourne–Adelaide National Highway. The Western Freeway joins Melbourne's freeway network via the Western Ring Road, in the western suburbs of Melbourne.

The Western Highway is the second busiest national highway in Australia, in terms of freight movements, with over five million tonnes annually. It provides the link between the eastern seaboard and South Australia and Western Australia. The towns along the way, including Ballarat, Ararat, Stawell and Horsham, are agricultural and manufacturing centres.

Plans are under way for the freeway to be extended west to Ararat, and eventually, to Stawell.^{[ when?]}

The Western Freeway has subsumed or bypassed numerous sections of the older Western Highway alignment. Bypassed sections of the former Western Highway that remain are generally designated sequentially from C801 to C805, or as Metropolitan Route 8 (within suburban Melbourne).

The Melbourne section of the Western Highway is shown in the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan as part of the F12 Freeway corridor.

Route

The Western Highway begins at the Victorian–South Australian border, east of Bordertown. It is mainly a high quality single carriageway from there to just outside the Melbourne side of Beaufort, with adequate numbers of overtaking lanes. The highway passes through several agricultural centres, for example Horsham, Victoria.

Just west of Buangor, the Western Highway becomes the Western Freeway, adopting freeway standards with two lanes running each way, and begins bypassing most of the towns the old alignment of the highway used to serve.

The newest sections of freeway standard dual carriageway opened on 6 March 2015 for the Ballarat to Beaufort section (running 25 kilometres (16 mi) in length), and on 17 April 2016 for the Beaufort to Buangor section (running 21 kilometres (13 mi) in length). The first section runs between the end of the Ballarat bypass between a new flyover/interchange with the C805 (Avenue of Remembrance, Burrumbeet) to just outside the eastern side Beaufort (including a bypass of Trawalla) providing 156 kilometres (97 mi) of freeway standard road between Melbourne and Beaufort. The second section runs between just outside the western side of Beaufort to just after the Buangor bypass, where it becomes a single carriageway again running all the way to Ararat, providing a further 21 kilometres (13 mi) of freeway standard road for between Beaufort and just passed Buangor.

Plans are underway for the end of this freeway to be extended from the current terminus just after the Buangor bypass westward towards and eventually to Stawell.

The dual carriageway continues towards Melbourne bypassing Ballarat, Ballan, Bacchus Marsh, Melton and Rockbank to the Western Ring Road. Major intersecting roads are grade-separated, however there remain minor intersections at-grade. Cycling is permitted on the sealed shoulder along most of the freeway.

History

The passing of the Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924 ^[2] through the Parliament of Victoria provided for the declaration of State Highways, roads two-thirds financed by the State government through the Country Roads Board (later VicRoads). The Western Highway was declared a State Highway on July 1, 1925, ^[3] cobbled from a collection of roads from Melbourne through Ballarat, Stawell, Horsham and Dimboola to the state border with South Australia at Serviceton (for a total of 244 miles); before this declaration, the road between Melbourne and Ballarat was referred to as (Main) Ballarat Road or Melbourne-Ballarat Road. ^[4] The Western Highway was later signed National Route 8 in 1955.

The Whitlam government introduced the federal National Roads Act 1974, ^[5] where roads declared as a National Highway were still the responsibility of the states for road construction and maintenance, but were fully compensated by the Federal government for money spent on approved projects. ^[5]: S7 As an important interstate link between the capitals of Victoria and South Australia, the Western Highway was declared a National Highway in 1974. ^[6]

Upgrades and realignments

Timeline of duplication

• 1964/65 – Ballarat East. 2.4 miles (3.9 km) of duplicate carriageway completed east of Ballarat. No exact date given. ^[7] Now part of Route C805 leading from the Western Freeway into Ballarat from the east.
• 1966/67 – Deer Park to Rockbank. 7.12 miles (11.46 km) of dual carriageways completed during financial year 1966/67. ^[8] Part of this is now Ballarat Road, Metro Route 8 through Deer Park and Caroline Springs.
• 1966/67 – Dual carriageways from Djerriwarrh Creek to Coimadai Creek completed during financial year 1966/67. ^[8] Now part of Bacchus Marsh Road between Melton and Bacchus Marsh.
• 1966/67 – Dual carriageways 1.83 miles (2.95 km) east of Pykes Creek Reservoir completed during financial year 1966/67. ^[8]
• 1967/68 – Rockbank to Melton East. Construction completed of over 3 miles (4.8 km) of dual carriageways during financial year 1967/68. ^[9]
• 1969 – Pykes Creek Reservoir. The ‘Western By-pass Road’ is completed, running four miles east and west of Pykes Creek Reservoir. ^[10]
• 1972 – Bacchus Marsh bypass. 5.88 miles (9.46 km) opened 30 June 1972, by the Hon. Sir Henry Bolte, GCMG, MP, at a cost of A$4.3m. ^[11]
• 1972 – Gordon section. 5.74 miles (9.24 km) opened 5 May 1972, by the Board's chairman, Mr R E V Donaldson, at a cost of A$2.2m. ^[11]
• 1973 – Pentland Hills to Myrniong section. 1 mile (1.6 km) completed from Korkuperrimul Creek to the Lion Park interchange, early 1973. ^[12]
• 1974 – Pentland Hills section. 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) ‘west of Bacchus Marsh’ opened 1974. ^[13]
• 1975 – Myrniong bypass opened 3 October 1975, by the Minister for Transport, the Hon. E. R. Meagher, CBE, ED, at a cost of A$3.28m. The 5.9 kilometres (3.7 mi) bypass of Myrniong completed '80 km of dual carriageways between Melbourne and Ballarat'. ^[14]
• 1978 – Ballan bypass. 8.4 kilometres (5.2 mi) opened 15 June 1978, by the Hon. J. A. Rafferty, Minister for Transport, at a cost of A$9.8m. ^[15]
• 1983 – Wallace and Bungaree bypass opened 9 March 1983, by the Premier of Victoria, the Hon. John Cain MP. The 11.9 kilometres (7.4 mi) bypass cost A$23.6m. ^[16]
• 1987 – Melton bypass. The 'freeway work' was opened to traffic on 7 July 1987, with the remainder of works expected to be completed by April 1988. The 8.8 kilometres (5.5 mi) bypass cost A$44.2m. ^{[17] [18]}
• 1989 – 5.6 km bypass of Dimboola opened in May. ^[19]
• 1993 – Ballarat bypass. The first stage, a single carriageway section from Woodmans Hill to the Midland Highway, is opened in December 1993, at a cost of A$62m. ^[20]
• 1994 – Ballarat bypass. The second stage of the initial 26 kilometres (16 mi) single carriageway by-pass is opened to traffic in December 1994. ^[21]
• 1995 – Ballarat bypass. Second carriageway opened to traffic between Woodmans Hill and Gillies Street in December 1995, at a cost of A$25m. ^[22]
• 1998 – Ballarat bypass. The final section opened in February 1998, The final stage featured the duplication of the original single carriageway bypass from Gillies Street to the Sunraysia Highway. ^[23]
• 2001 – The new elevated Hopkins Road Interchange was opened to traffic on 12 July 2001, at a cost of $13.1 million. ^[24] Before the construction of the new interchange, the intersection of Hopkins Road (Melton-Werribee Road) with the Western Freeway at Rockbank was improved using Black Spot Program funds in 1989 and 1991, but a long-term solution to the congestion and crashes at this location was the construction of an elevated interchange. ^[25]
• 2009 – Deer Park bypass opened to traffic on 5 April 2009, at a cost of A$331m, jointly funded by the state and federal governments. In conjunction with these works, the new Leakes Road interchange at Rockbank was opened in August 2008. ^[26] This provided a freeway interchange onto the Western Ring Road.
• 2011 – Anthony's Cutting realignment. A new 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) realignment constructed to the south of the previous section of highway, bypassing the steep grades and tight curves of the old alignment between Melton and Bacchus Marsh. The A$200m project was ‘mostly’ open to traffic in June 2011. ^[27]
• 2013 – Ballarat to Burrumbeet. 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) duplication opened to traffic 31 January 2013. ^[28]
• 2015 – Burrumbeet to Beaufort opened to traffic on 18 February 2015 adding a further 26 kilometres (16 mi) of dual carriageway and includes a bypass of Trawalla however the highway still passes through both Burrumbeet (as dual carriageway) and Beaufort (as single carriageway). ^[29]
• 2016 – Beaufort to Buangor opened to traffic in April 2016 adding a further 21 kilometres (13 mi) of dual carriageway to the existing freeway, which includes the Buangor bypass.

Deer Park Bypass

The Deer Park Bypass opened on 5 April 2009 in the western suburbs of Melbourne. The freeway links the Western Freeway at Ravenhall, and the Western Ring Road in Derrimut. This 9.3 kilometre freeway was estimated to cost A$333 million which also includes a grade separated interchange or a "full diamond" at Leakes Road in Rockbank.

The purpose of the freeway bypass is to move traffic off Ballarat Road, which leads to the Western Ring Road. Due to the strong population growth of about 8.7 per cent and subdivision in Deer Park and Sunshine, the surrounding suburbs and the seven traffic signals between the Western Ring Road and the start of the Western Freeway, substantial long and very frustrating delays were created for the 70,000 vehicles per day with 10 per cent of this consisting of heavy vehicles.

The bypass had been proposed since the completion of the Western Ring Road, the project stalled due to funding quarrels between the Federal and State Governments. In 2004, the Federal government announced that the Deer Park Bypass would be built as part of a $1.4 billion project "package grant" to Victoria. It was anticipated that more than 15 min of travel time would be saved when travelling through Deer Park, via Ballarat Road.

Construction started on the Deer Park bypass in August 2006, ^[30] work being carried out as a joint venture by Leighton Contractors and VicRoads, in construction with two contracts. The first stage, allowing westbound traffic over the new bridge at the Ravenhall end of the new freeway, opened in December 2007. ^[31]

It was announced on 4 March 2009 that the Deer Park Bypass would open in early April 2009, with the new freeway link on track to open more than eight months ahead of schedule.

On that day, Roads and Ports Minister Tim Pallas and Federal Member for Gorton Brendan O'Connor MP inspected works from the new bridge over the Ring Road at Sunshine West and Tim Pallas announced that the $331 million Deer Park Bypass would open to the public on Sunday 5 April 2009. ^[32]

Anthony's Cutting realignment

The section of road through Anthony's Cutting between Bacchus Marsh and Melton was one of the most dangerous sections of the route, and was not of modern freeway standard. The steep hills and tight curves along the 5 kilometre long stretch of road resulted in 21 serious crashes in the five years to 2010. ^[33] More than 29,000 vehicles, including more than 4000 freight vehicles, travel the highway section daily. ^[34] The new route opened to traffic on 27 June 2011, nine months ahead of schedule. ^[35]

The project included: ^[36]

• Extension of Woolpack Road north from Bacchus Marsh Road to a new interchange on the Western Freeway, including a bridge over the Lerderderg River.
• An overpass carrying Bulmans Road over the existing Western Freeway.
• An overpass taking Hopetoun Park Road across the new freeway, with Melbourne-bound on and off ramps.
• Freeway bridges spanning Djerriwarrh Creek, and Cowans Road / Pyrites Creek.

The original project scope included a diamond interchange at Bulmans Road that has not been built, while the ramps at Hopetoun Park Road were not included but was later added. ^[37] The extension of Woolpack Road has been delayed due to controversy over need to clear trees in the heritage listed Avenue of Honour at Bacchus Marsh. ^[38]

Realignment of the road through this section had been proposed far back as 2001, when a group of 10 local councils said the realignment could cost just $65 million to build. ^[39] By 2006 the cost was estimated to be $85 million, with federal Roads Minister Jim Lloyd stating that the project would receive serious consideration for funding in the 2009 AusLink document, subject to support from the State Government. ^[40] Construction commenced in February 2010, funded by $160 million from the Australian Government and $40 million from the Victorian Government. ^[41]

Armstrong deviation

In 2001 work started on a 4.2 kilometre long deviation at Armstrong (on the Adelaide side of Ararat), involving 200,000 cubic metres of earthworks and a new bridge over the main Melbourne–Adelaide railway. Previously high vehicles could not travel under the rail overpass and were forced to detour around it, in addition the poor road conditions led to a number of accidents and fatalities. ^[42] Costing $6.1 million the work was completed by 2003. ^[43]

Future upgrades

As of 2017 ^[update], several at-grade intersections remained on the "freeway", particularly in the areas near Rockbank and at Woodmans Hill just to the east of Ballarat.

• Proposed upgrade and safety improvements Rockbank to Melton, to be funded by Auslink 2 (2009–2014) [1].
• Proposed extension west from the current freeway terminus in the Melbourne side of Beaufort West through to Ararat and eventually to Stawell, also part of Auslink 2. Beaufort to Buangor was completed in April 2016. Buangor Bypass completed in mid-2016, and Buangor to Ararat was expected to start in early 2017. ^{[29][ needs update]}

Duplication of the Western Highway between Ballarat and Stawell was proposed to be completed between 2009 and 2014, to be funded by Auslink 2. ^[44] At the end of 2016, some parts were still in early planning, including the bypasses at Beaufort and Ararat. ^{[45][ needs update]}

The clearing of wide swathes of the ancient red gums by Vic Roads near Beaufort resulted in expressions of community concern, including public meetings. In 2015, two women chained themselves to a red gum tree for 4½ hours near Buangor, 74 kilometres (46 miles) west of Ballarat, to draw attention to the issue. Isabel Mackenzie, a long-term resident of the area, said she was concerned at the environmental impact of removing trees that are hundreds of years old. Helen Lewers said that VicRoads should reroute the highway between Buangor and Stawell to preserve the native roadside vegetation. ^[46]

Exits and major intersections

LGA	Location [1]	km [1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
South Australia – Victoria state border		419	260	South Australia – Victoria state border	Continues west into South Australia as Dukes Highway
West Wimmera	Kaniva	394	245	Melbourne–Adelaide railway
		392	244	Kaniva–Edenhope Road (C208) – Edenhope
Hindmarsh	Nhill	356	221	Nhill–Harrow Road (C206) – Harrow
		354	220	Nhill–Yanac Road (C225) – Yanac
		353	219	Nhill–Netherby Road (C224) – Netherby
		352	219	Nhill–Jeparit Road (C223) – Jeparit
	Dimboola	322	200	Wimmera River
		318	198	Dimboola–Rainbow Road (C227) – Jeparit, Rainbow, Dimboola
		318	198	Melbourne–Adelaide railway
		315	196	Borung Highway (C234) – Warracknabeal, Donald
		314	195	Horsham Road (C227) – Dimboola
Horsham	Wail	306	190	Melbourne–Adelaide railway
	Horsham	280	170	Blue Ribbon Road (C231) – Wallup
				Henty Highway (B200/B240) – Warracknabeal, St Arnaud, Mildura	Northern terminus for concurrency with A200 (for 3km) and B240 (for 400m) through Horsham
		279	173	Wimmera Highway (B240) – Edenhope, Naracoorte	Southern terminus for concurrency with B240
		278	173	Wimmera River
				Horsham–Lubeck Road (C215) – Longerenong, Drung
		277	172	Henty Highway (A200) – Hamilton, Portland	Southern terminus for concurrency with A200
	Bungalally	266	165	Ballyglunin North Road (C215) – Drung, Longerenong
	Drung	263	163	Northern Grampians Road (C222) – Halls Gap
Northern Grampians	Deep Lead	226	140	Stawell–Warracknabeal Road (B210) – Glenorchy, Warracknabeal
	Stawell	215	134	Grampians Road (C216) – Halls Gap
		214	133	Pomonal Road (C221) – Pomonal, Avoca
		211	131	London Road (C238) – Stawell, to Donald–Stawell Road – Donald
	Great Western	203	126	Melbourne–Adelaide railway
Ararat	Ararat	185	115	Pyrenees Highway (B180) – Glenthompson, Avoca, Maryborough, Castlemaine
		183	114	Ararat–Halls Gap Road (C222) – Pomonal, Halls Gap
				Melbourne–Adelaide railway level crossing
	Buangor	168	104	Melbourne–Adelaide railway
		161	100	Buangor–Ben Nevis Road – Buangor, Bayindeen	Western Highway (A8) west, Western Freeway (M8) east
Pyrenees	Beaufort	143	89	Melbourne–Adelaide railway
		141	88	Beaufort–Lexton Road (C172 north) – Lexton, Talbot Skipton Road (C172 south) – Skipton
Ballarat	Burrumbeet	114	71	Remembrance Drive (Ballarat–Burrumbeet Road) (C805) – Burrumbeet, Ballarat
	Windermere	113	70	Melbourne–Adelaide railway
	Miners Rest	109	68	Sunraysia Highway (B220) – Avoca, St Arnaud, Donald, Ouyen
	Miners Rest, Mitchell Park	107	66	Ballarat–Maryborough Road (C287) – Ballarat, Maryborough
	Wendouree, Mount Rowan	105	65	Gillies Road (C307) – Wendouree, Clunes	Westbound exit and eastbound entry only
		103	64	Midland Highway (A300) – Bendigo, Castlemaine, Creswick, Geelong
	Brown Hill	97	60	Ballarat–Daylesford Road (C292) – Brown Hill, Daylesford
	Warrenheip, Brown Hill	95	59	Victoria Street (Ballarat–Burrumbeet Road) (C805) – Ballarat, Burrumbeet
		94	58	Clarks Road	Westbound exit and entrance only
	Warrenheip	92	57	Brewery Tap Road (north) Old Melbourne Road (south) – Dunnstown	At-grade
		91	57	Greene Road	Westbound exit and entrance only
		90	56	Richards Road	Eastbound exit and entrance only
Moorabool	Leigh Creek	88	55	Black Swamp Road (north) – Bullarook Forbes Road (south) – Leigh Creek, Kryal Castle	At-grade
		87	54	Bungaree–Wallace Road (C804) – Bungaree	At-grade
	Bungaree, Springbank	77	48	Ormond Road (north) – Springbank Bungaree–Wallace Road (C291/C804 south) – Wallace, Creswick
	Gordon	72	45	Moorabol West Road (north) – Bunding Brougham Street (south) – Gordon	Westbound exit via Butter Factory Road
	Ballan	62	39	Ballan–Daylesford Road (C141) – Ballan, Daylesford
		59	37		BP Service Centre
		57	35	Old Melbourne Road (C803) – Ballan
	Myrniong	51	32	Greendale–Myrniong Road (C318) – Greendale, Kyneton
	Myrniong, Pentland Hills	45	28	Pentland Hills Road – Pentland Hills
	Pentland Hills	42	26	Pentland Hills Road (north) – Pentland Hills Mortons Road (south)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only
	Darley, Bacchus Marsh	40	25	Bacchus Marsh Road (C802) – Bacchus Marsh	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance only
	Bacchus Marsh	39	24	Halletts Way	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only
		38	24	Bacchus Marsh–Gisborne Road (C704) – Geelong, Gisborne
				Lerderderg River
		33	21	Old Western Highway (east) – Melton Bacchus Marsh Road (C802 west) – Bacchus Marsh	Westbound and eastbound exits only
	Hopetoun Park	31	19	Hopetoun Park Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only
Melton	Brookfield, Melton, Melton West, Melton South	25	16	Coburns Road (C801) – Exford, Melton
	Melton, Melton South	22	14	Ferris Road ( Melton Highway) (C754/C801) – Melton, Gisborne, Taylors Lakes, Melton South
	Rockbank	20	12	Mount Cottrell Road – Mount Cottrell	At-grade
		18	11	Paynes Road	Westbound entrance and exit only
		16	9.9	Leakes Road – Rockbank, Plumpton
		13	8.1	Troups Road North	At-grade
		11	6.8	Hopkins Road (C702) – Werribee, Diggers Rest
	Ravenhall	8	5.0	Ballarat Road (Metro Route 8) – Deer Park, Sunshine, Footscray	Eastbound entrance and westbound exit only
		7	4.3	Christies Road – Caroline Springs	Westbound entrance and eastbound exit only
Brimbank	Derrimut	1	0.62	Robinsons Road (A91) – Tarneit, Burnside
	Derrimut, Sunshine West	0	0.0	Western Ring Road (M80/Tourist Route 21) – Geelong, Laverton North, Greensborough, Seymour, Melbourne Airport	Eastern terminus of Western Freeway and route M8
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi        Concurrency terminus        Incomplete access        Route transition

See also

• Ballarat Road
• Dukes Highway
• Freeways in Australia
• Freeways in Victoria
• Road transport in Victoria

External links

• Timelapse footage of the Western Freeway between Melbourne and Ballarat

References