Great Alpine Road

Great Alpine Road Victoria

Map of the Great Alpine Road in eastern Victoria
General information
Type	Highway
Length	303 km (188 mi)
Opened	1998
Route number(s)	B500 (1996-present)
Former route number	State Route 156 (1986–1996) Wangaratta-Omeo as Ovens Highway & Alpine Road State Route 195 (1986–1996) Omeo-Bairnsdale as Omeo Highway
Major junctions
NW end	Old Hume Highway Wangaratta, Victoria
	Hume Freeway Omeo Highway for full list see major intersections
SE end	Princes Highway Bairnsdale, Victoria
Location(s)
Major settlements	Myrtleford, Ovens, Bright, Harrietville, Mount Hotham, Dinner Plain, Omeo, Swifts Creek, Ensay, Bruthen
Highway system
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in Victoria

The Great Alpine Road (B500)^[1]^[2]^[3] is a country tourist road in Victoria, Australia, running from Wangaratta in the north to Bairnsdale in the east, and passing through the Victorian Alps. The road was given its current name because it was considered the mountain equivalent to Victoria's world famous Great Ocean Road in the south-west of the state. The road usually remains open during winter.

Route details

The Great Alpine Road^[4] winds through mountains, valleys and forests, and past rivers, vineyards and farms. At a length of 303 kilometres (188 mi), it is Australia's highest year-round accessible sealed road. The section over Mount Hotham rises to an altitude of 1,840 metres (6,040 ft) AMSL.^[5] It is blanketed with snow during winter months and must be cleared on a daily basis. Extreme weather conditions can sometimes still result in the road being closed between Harrietville and Omeo.

The Great Alpine Road links Victoria's North East with Gippsland. It was completed with the sealing of the section between Mount Hotham and Dinner Plain and was officially opened on 4 April 1998. The road itself has existed since colonial times in some form, but was unsealed for much of its history, and was only given the Great Alpine Road designation after being fully sealed.

The current Great Alpine Road includes the former Ovens Highway from Wangaratta to Bright, and a former section of the Omeo Highway from Omeo to Bruthen,^[6] along with the section of the Princes Highway from Bruthen to Bairnsdale.

Gallery of some notable sights

The Great Alpine Road descending "The Gap" between Omeo and Swifts Creek.
The Australian Alps from the Great Alpine Road on Mount Hotham.
View from Myrtleford to Mount Buffalo National Park.
The Great Alpine Road winds across Mount Hotham, clinging to the side and ridge of the mountain

Major intersections, towns and resorts

Great Alpine Road
Northbound	Distance to Wangaratta (km)	Distance to Bairnsdale (km)	Southbound
T-Intersection (clockwise from highway) Parfitt Road to Wangaratta and Yarrawonga Parfitt Road to Wodonga
End Great Alpine Road	1	306	Start Great Alpine Road
Wodonga, Sydney Hume Freeway	5	302	Wodonga, Sydney Hume Freeway
Seymour, Melbourne Hume Freeway	6	301	Seymour, Melbourne Hume Freeway
Beechworth, Yackandandah Beechworth-Wangaratta Road	12	295	Beechworth, Yackandandah Beechworth-Wangaratta Road
Beechworth Buckland Road	35	272	Beechworth Buckland Road
Milawa, Glenrowan Snow Road	41	266	Milawa, Glenrowan Snow Road
Yackandandah Myrtleford-Yackandandah Road	46	261	Yackandandah Myrtleford-Yackandandah Road
Yackandandah Myrtleford-Yackandandah Road	46	261	Myrtleford
Lake Buffalo Buffalo River Road	47	260	Lake Buffalo Buffalo River Road
Myrtleford	47	260	Lake Buffalo Buffalo River Road
Ovens	51	256	Ovens
Mount Beauty Happy Valley Road	51	256	Mount Beauty Happy Valley Road
Porepunkah	70	237	Porepunkah
Mount Buffalo Mount Buffalo Road	71	236	Mount Buffalo Mount Buffalo Road
Bright	77	230	Bright
Mount Beauty Tawonga Gap Road	83	224	Mount Beauty Tawonga Gap Road
Harrietville	101	206	Harrietville
Mount Hotham	132	175	Mount Hotham
Dinner Plain	143	164	Dinner Plain
Omeo	186	121	Omeo
Benambra, Tallangatta Omeo Highway	187	120	Benambra, Tallangatta Omeo Highway
Swifts Creek	213	94	Swifts Creek
Ensay	231	76	Ensay
Bruthen	282	25	Buchan, Orbost Bruthen-Buchan Road
Buchan, Orbost Bruthen-Buchan Road	282	25	Bruthen
Swan Reach Sarsfield-Tambo Upper Road	286	21	Swan Reach Sarsfield-Tambo Upper Road
Start Great Alpine Road	305	2	End Great Alpine Road
Roundabout (clockwise from highway) Princes Highway to Lakes Entrance and Orbost Princes Highway to Bairnsdale and Melbourne

References

↑ "Map NE Victoria" (PDF). vic roads. p. 16. Retrieved 09/02/2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help) size 2.4MB
↑ "Google Maps". 2009 Google – Map data 2009 MapData Sciences Pty Ltd, PSMA. Retrieved 10/02/2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
↑ State Route 156 – Ovens Highway, Main Roads Victoria. Retrieved on 23 September 2013.
↑ "Great Alpine Road". Tourism Victoria. Retrieved 10/02/2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
↑ "Mt Hotham Section". 2009 Google – Map data 2009 MapData Sciences Pty Ltd, PSMA. Retrieved 10/02/2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
↑ 8423 Omeo, Victoria, Topographic Map. National Topographic Map Series (1 ed.). Commonwealth of Australia. 1982. |access-date= requires |url= (help)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great Alpine Road.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Great Alpine Road.

"Great Alpine Road – Tourism Victoria". Retrieved 21 July 2011.
"Australian Traveller". Retrieved 10/02/2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
"Great Alpine Road - Visit Victoria (official tourism website)". Retrieved 2015-06-20.
"Sydney – Melbourne Touring". Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 10/02/2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
"Victoria's Alpine High Country". Retrieved 10/02/2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
"NRMA Motoring Services". Retrieved 10/02/2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
"Discover East Gippsland". Retrieved 10/02/2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

Road infrastructure in Victoria

Freeways	Calder Freeway Goulburn Valley Freeway Hume Freeway Princes Freeway (Geelong Ring Road) Western Freeway

Highways	Bass Highway Bellarine Highway Borung Highway Calder Highway Calder Alternative Highway Glenelg Highway Goulburn Valley Highway Hamilton Highway Henty Highway Hopkins Highway Kiewa Valley Highway Loddon Valley Highway Mallee Highway Maroondah Highway McIvor Highway Melba Highway Midland Highway Monaro Highway Murray Valley Highway Nepean Highway Northern Highway Omeo Highway Princes Highway Pyrenees Highway South Gippsland Highway Strzelecki Highway Sturt Highway Sunraysia Highway Surf Coast Highway Warburton Highway Western Highway Western Port Highway Wimmera Highway

Bypass routes	Old Hume Highway Old Princes Highway Princes Highway (Geelong)

Tourist routes	Great Alpine Road Great Ocean Road Murray Valley Highway Phillip Island Road

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 08, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.