Wikipedia

Olympic Highway

For the Olympic Highway in the U.S. state of Washington, see U.S. Route 101 in Washington.
For the Highway in the South Korea, see 88 Olympic Expressway.

Olympic Highway is a 317-kilometre (197 mi) rural road in the central western and south-eastern Riverina regions of New South Wales, Australia. It services rural communities, links Hume Highway with Mid-Western Highway, and provides part of an alternate road link between Sydney and Albury via Bathurst and Cowra as well as servicing Wagga Wagga, linking with Sturt Highway.

Olympic Highway

New South Wales
Advance directional sign in Wagga Wagga, on the Olympic Highway heading south from Cootamundra
Road map showing a northeast-southwest road in southern New South Wales (west of the Australian Capital Territory)
Map of south-eastern Australia with Olympic Highway highlighted in green
General information
TypeRural road
Length317 km (197 mi)[1]
GazettedAugust 1928 (as Main Roads 57 and 239)[2]
March 1938 (as Trunk Road 78)[3]
Route number(s) A41 (2013–present)
Former
route number		 National Route 41 (1974–2013)
Major junctions
Northeast end Mid-Western Highway
Cowra, New South Wales
 
Southwest end Hume Highway
Table Top, New South Wales
Location(s)
Major settlementsYoung, Cootamundra, Wagga Wagga, Culcairn

Route

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Olympic Highway runs generally north–south, roughly aligned to sections of the Sydney–Melbourne and the Blayney–Demondrille railway lines. A 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) section through Wagga Wagga is a four-lane divided urban road where it is concurrent with Sturt Highway.[4] Olympic Highway approximately parallels Hume Highway to the east and Newell Highway to the west, sharing a short concurrency with Sturt Highway in Wagga Wagga.[4] It is mostly single carriageway and also includes wider sections within urban areas and some passing lanes. Where the road passes through suburban areas it accommodates both parking and pedestrian needs of the town shopping centre and highway through traffic.

At its northern terminus in Cowra, Olympic Highway meets Mid-Western Highway, along which route A41 continues east to Bathurst, and west as route B64 to Grenfell; and Lachlan Valley Way that generally runs northwest–southwest between Forbes and Boorowa and beyond. Olympic Highway heads generally south by west through Koorawatha, Young, Cootamundra, Junee, Wagga Wagga, and Culcairn towards its southern terminus via a trumpet interchange with Hume Highway located 18 kilometres (11 mi) north of Albury at Table Top.[4][5]

The only major river crossing is the Murrumbidgee River, crossed between Boorooma and Wagga via the Gobbagombalin Bridge, at 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) long believed to be the longest continuous-span viaduct in New South Wales, situated about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) northwest of the Wagga CBD and opened on 26 July 1997.[6] Prior to the completion of the "Gobba" Bridge, the Olympic Highway followed a route that took it through the Wagga central business district via the Hampden Bridge, a wooden Allan Truss bridge that was opened in 1895 and eventually demolished in 2014.[7]

History

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The passing of the Main Roads Act of 1924[8] 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. 57 was declared from the intersection with Monaro Highway (today Sturt Highway) at Wagga Wagga to Old Junee and continuing north via Temora, Wyalong, Condobolin and Tullamore to the intersection with North-Western Highway (today Mitchell Highway) at Trangie,[2] Main Road No. 210 was declared from the intersection with Hume Highway near Ettamogah, via Culcairn, Henty to the intersection with Wagga-Narrandera Road (today Sturt Highway) at Wagga Wagga,[2] Main Road No. 239 was declared from Young to Wombat (and continuing southwards to Murrumburrah, and northwards to Grenfell),[2] and Main Road No. 243 was declared from Junee to Wallendbeen (and continuing westwards via Coolamon and Grong Grong to Narrandera, and continuing eastwards via Harden to Bowning),[2] on the same day, 8 August 1928. With the passing of the Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929[9] to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, this was amended to Trunk Road 57 and Main Roads 210 and 239 and 243 on 8 April 1929.

The Department of Main Roads, which had succeeded the MRB in 1932, truncated the eastern end of Main Road 243 to Junee on 16 March 1938 (with its western end terminating at the newly declared State Highway 17, later Newell Highway, at Narrandera).[10] Trunk Road 57 was extended south, from Wagga Wagga via Henty and Culcairn to the intersection with Hume Highway near Ettamogah (subsuming Main Road 210),[3] and declared Trunk Road 78 from the intersection with Mid-Western Highway in Cowra via Young, Wombat, Wallandbeen and Cootamundra to Junee (the southern end of Main Road 239 was truncated to meet Trunk Road 78 at Young),[3] on the same day, 29 June 1938; Trunk Road 78 was later extended a short distance west past Junee to the intersection with Trunk Road 57 south of Old Junee on 17 May 1939.[11]

Trunk Road 78 was extended further south via Wagga Wagga, Henty and Culcairn to the intersection with Hume Highway near Ettamogah (subsuming the former alignment of Trunk Road 57, which was truncated just south of Old Junee) and was officially named Olympic Way on 19 June 1963,[12] in honour of part of the path that the Olympic Torch took on its journey from Cowra to Albury for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. The southern end of Olympic Way was re-aligned on 1 July 1988, to run from Gerogery directly south to terminate at the current-day intersection with Hume Highway roughly 10 km north of its previous terminus at Ettamogah (the former alignment is now known as Gerogery Road).[13]

The passing of the Roads Act of 1993[14] through the Parliament of New South Wales updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Olympic Way was renamed Olympic Highway in 1996,[5] and the route between Wagga Wagga and Cowra was used again for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games torch relay. Olympic Highway today retains its declaration as Main Road 78,[15] but despite its name, the road is not an official highway as classified by Transport for NSW, and is considered a rural road.[4]

Olympic Highway was signed National Route 41 across its entire length in 1974. With the conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in both states in 2013, this was replaced with route A41.[16]

Major intersections

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LGALocationkm[1]miDestinationsNotes
CowraCowra00.0   Mid-Western Highway (A41 east, B64 west) – Grenfell, Forbes, Bathurst, CanowindraNorthern terminus of highway, route A41 continues east along Mid-Western Highway
HilltopsKoorawatha25.615.9Greenethorpe–Koorawatha Road (west) – Greenethorpe
Prince Street (south) – Koorawatha
Young67.341.8  Iandra Avenue, to Henry Lawson Way – Grenfell, Forbes, Young Airport
69.142.9Lovell Street, to Murringo Road (east) – Murringo, Boorowa
Boorowa Street (west) – Young		Roundabout
Wombat83.451.8Harden–Wombat Road – Murrumburrah, Harden
Cootamundra-GundagaiWallendbeen91.156.6  Burley Griffin Way (B94) – Harden, Yass, Temora, GriffithRoundabout
JuneeJunee171106Wantabadgery Road – Gundagai
171.1106.3Broadway Street, to Junee–Coolamon Road – Coolamon, TemoraRoundabout
172107Kemp Street, to Junee–Harefield Road – Harefield
Old Junee179111  Goldfields Way (B85) – Temora, West Wyalong
Wagga WaggaWagga Wagga206128Coolamon Road – Coolamon, ArdlethanRoundabout
Murrumbidgee River211131Gobbagombalin Bridge
Wagga WaggaWagga Wagga213132  Sturt Highway (A20 east) – GundagaiConcurrency with Sturt Highway
215134  Sturt Highway (A20 west) – Narrandera
LockhartThe Rock241150Urana Street, to Lockhart-The Rock Road (north) – Lockhart, Collingullie
Mangoplah-The Rock Road (south) – Mangoplah
Greater HumeCulcairn288179Balfour Street (east), to Culcairn–Holbrook Road – Holbrook
Mellville Street (south) – Culcairn
288.1179.0Balfour Street (west), to Walbundrie Road – Walbundrie
Railway Parade (north) – Culcairn		Roundabout
Gerogery307191Main Street, to Gerogery Road – Jindera, Burrumbuttock
AlburyTable Top318198  Hume Highway (M31) – Gundagai, Albury, MelbourneSouthern terminus of highway and route A41 at trumpet interchange
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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  •  
    Olympic Highway, route A41, links Albury to Cowra

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Olympic Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e "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.
  3. ^ a b c "Main Roads Act, 1924-1937". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 102. National Library of Australia. 8 July 1938. p. 2594. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Albury to Cowra Corridor Strategy (PDF) (PDF). Government of New South Wales. December 2010. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-921766-92-3. Retrieved 2 April 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b "Olympic Highway National Route 41". Ozroads. Retrieved 25 May 2008.[self-published source]
  6. ^ "Wagga's Gobbagombalin bridge proves its worth". The Daily Advertiser. 9 December 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  7. ^ Owen, Brodie (20 August 2014). "Hampden Bridge erased from Wagga's landscape". The Daily Advertiser. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ "Main Roads Act, 1924-1937". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 58. National Library of Australia. 14 April 1938. pp. 1525–6. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Main Roads Act, 1924-1938". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 80. National Library of Australia. 26 May 1939. p. 2726. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Main Roads Act, 1924-1960". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 60. National Library of Australia. 5 July 1963. p. 1910. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  13. ^ "State Roads Act 1986". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 110. National Library of Australia. 1 July 1988. p. 3580. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  14. ^ 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
  15. ^ Transport for NSW (August 2022). "Schedule of Classified Roads and Unclassified Regional Roads" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  16. ^ "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.
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34°52′12″S 147°32′40″E / 34.87000°S 147.54444°E / -34.87000; 147.54444

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