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85-609: Great Western Highway is a 202-kilometre-long (126 mi) state highway in New South Wales , Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst , on the state's Central Tablelands . The highway also has local road names between the Sydney city centre and Parramatta , being: Broadway from Haymarket to Chippendale , Parramatta Road from Chippendale to Parramatta, and Church Street through Parramatta. The eastern terminus of Great Western Highway

170-535: A dual carriageway 3 km deviation was opened at Prospect. This replaced the only winding section of the Highway between Parramatta and Penrith. The bypassed section was heritage-listed in 2014 as the best-preserved section of the 1818 alignment. From the late 1960s to the early 1970s the highway was almost entirely realigned and constructed to three lanes, being deviated as necessary, between Kirkconnell and Glanmire. Ironically this included reinstatement of most of

255-586: A major intersection at Homebush West with the A3 arterial road. Although the A3 road is called "Centenary Drive" in this area, the on-/off-ramps are separately named Marlborough Road, carrying on the name of the surface road that was replaced by Centenary Drive. Further west, on the boundary between Lidcombe and Auburn , the highway intersects the A6 arterial road (St Hillier's Road / Silverwater Road). Just south of Parramatta,

340-531: A passage for the road. It is a testimony of Mitchell's vision and engineering skill that this route, almost unchanged, and using his 1832 stonework, is still in use. Because this pass brought the road into the Hartley Valley several kilometres south of the Mount York descent, it necessitated a new route as far west as Hartley to meet Cox's Road. This also is still in use as part of the highway. In 1929

425-478: A point 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of O'Connell . From here it continued westward, not crossing the Fish River, but crossing Campbells River 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) north of the present bridge at The Lagoon and ascending to another ridgeline where it turned north to Gormans Hill, to reach the future site of Bathurst from the south, not the east. For the first one hundred years after this ceased to be

510-530: A population of at least 10,000 inhabitants are urban roads (type D and E) under the jurisdiction of the relevant municipalities. The state highway that cross towns or villages with a population of less than 10,000 inhabitants are urban roads (type D and E) under the jurisdiction of the municipality, subject to authorization from ANAS . State highways in India are numbered highways that are laid and maintained by state governments . Mexico 's State Highway System

595-556: A road class which is ranking below the federal road network ( Bundesstraßen ). The responsibility for road planning, construction and maintenance is vested in the federal states of Germany. Most federal states use the term Landesstraße (marked with 'L'), while for historical reasons Saxony and Bavaria use the term Staatsstraße (marked with 'S'). The appearance of the shields differs from state to state. The term Land-es-straße should not be confused with Landstraße , which describes every road outside built-up areas and

680-594: A short distance further west the majority of traffic is diverted off the highway onto M4 Western Motorway via the WestConnex tunnel at Ashfield. A short distance further west, on the northern fringes of Ashfield, the City West Link arterial road ends at a major junction with the highway at Frederick Street (which proceeds south to join Hume Highway). The highway continues west as Parramatta Road, with

765-483: A similar route to Victoria Pass, but below it. It was more winding and thus longer, thereby affording a less steep climb. However rapid improvements in motor vehicle performance meant that in 1920 Victoria Pass was rebuilt to become the main route again. After the ascent of the eastern escarpment by the Main Western Railway was deviated for the second time in 1913 to its current route via Glenbrook Gorge,

850-695: A state highway is a road maintained and numbered by the national government rather than local authorities. Australia 's important urban and inter-regional routes not covered by the National Highway or National Route systems are marked under the State Route system. They can be recognised by blue shield markers. They were practically adopted in all states by the end of the 1980s, and in some states, some less important National Routes were downgraded to State Routes. Each state has or had its own numbering scheme, but do not duplicate National Route numbers in

935-617: A three-digit number designation, preceded by D . Provincial roads ( Turkish : İl yolu ) are secondary roads, maintained by respective local governments with the support of the KGM. The roads have a four-digit numbering grouped as two pairs, pairs are separated by a dash. First pair represents the license number of that province . State highways are generally a mixture of primary and secondary roads, although some are freeways (for example, State Route 99 in California, which links many of

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1020-750: Is 100 km/h, with reductions when one passes through a densely populated area. The highways in New Zealand are all state highways, and the network consists of SH 1 running the length of both main islands, SH 2–5 and 10–58 in the North Island, and SH 6–8 and 60–99 in the South Island. National and provincial highways are numbered approximately north to south. State Highway 1 runs the length of both islands. Local highways ( Korean :  지방도 ; Hanja :  地方道 ; RR :  Jibangdo ; MR :  Chipangdo ) are

1105-465: Is a concrete plant located in town in the industrial area, this plant is owned and operated by Holcim Australia, the plant was formerly owned by PF Concrete and currently services the western suburbs region including Penrith six days a week. Emu Plains railway station is situated on the Main Western railway line . It is the last station on the suburban line with Lapstone , the next station to

1190-490: Is a system of urban and state routes constructed and maintained by each Mexican state. The main purpose of the state networks is to serve as a feeder system to the federal highway system. All states except the Federal District operate a road network. Each state marks these routes with a white shield containing the abbreviated name of the state plus the route number. New Zealand state highways are national highways –

1275-478: Is another country that is divided into states and has state highways. For example, the longest highway in the state of São Paulo , the Rodovia Raposo Tavares , is designated as SP-270 and SP-295 . Canada is divided into provinces and territories, each of which maintains its own system of provincial or territorial highways, which form the majority of the country's highway network. There is also

1360-517: Is at Railway Square , at the intersection of Broadway with Quay Street, in the inner-city suburb of Haymarket and just south of the Sydney CBD . From Railway Square, the highway follows Broadway south and west, to the intersection with City Road ( Princes Highway ), where the highway changes name to Parramatta Road and heads generally west towards Parramatta . Hume Highway (Liverpool Road) branches south-west at Summer Hill / Ashfield , and

1445-685: Is best obtained by the Great Western Highway. The local government schools are Emu Plains Public School and the Nepean Creative and Performing Arts High School . There is also a Catholic primary school, Our Lady of the Way, and high school, Penola Catholic College. Emu Plains is the westernmost residential suburb in the outskirts of the Greater Western Sydney area, set away from the hustle and bustle of Sydney. As

1530-490: Is free to choose a different marker, and most states have. States may choose a design theme relevant to its state (such as an outline of the state itself) to distinguish state route markers from interstate, county, or municipal route markers. Emu Plains Emu Plains is a suburb of Sydney in the state of New South Wales , Australia . It is 58 kilometres (36 mi) west of the Sydney central business district , in

1615-663: Is joined by the Chifley Road, which links eastward back to Bells Line of Road. The highway continues generally west, intersecting with Castlereagh Highway west of Marrangaroo , and crosses Coxs River to ascend the Great Dividing Range to reach its highest point (at 1,170 metres (3,840 ft) just east of Yetholme ) and over the western ridge of the Sydney basin before dropping into the Macquarie Valley to reach its western terminus at Bathurst, at

1700-568: Is not a road class. The Strade Statali , abbreviated SS, is the Italian national network of state highways. The total length for the network is about 25.000 km (15.534 mi). The Italian state highway network are maintained by ANAS . From 1928 until 1946 state highways were maintained by Azienda Autonoma Statale della Strada (AASS). The next level of roads below Strada Statali is Strada Regionale ("regional roads"). The routes of some state highways derive from ancient Roman roads , such as

1785-476: Is now known as Victoria Pass, where the highway drops from the Blue Mountains into the Hartley Valley. Midway down the road had to be supported on a causeway formed by massive stone buttressed walls, where a narrow ridge connects two large bluffs. This ridge had to be widened and raised to give the highway a route from the upper to the lower bluff. Mitchell cut terraces into the sides of these bluffs to form

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1870-534: Is now only used by local traffic to access residential properties. Mitchells Pass, travelling is now one way eastbound between Lennox Bridge and the highway, due to its narrowness. Great Western Highway traffic therefore has to use the M4 between Russell St and Governors Drive. A major realignment west from Mount Boyce (the highest point on the highway) to eliminate the Soldiers Pinch and other nearby sharp curves

1955-488: Is still in use today as part of the Great Western Highway. West of Mount Victoria, Evans' route has been superseded, chiefly by Mitchell's new route constructed between 1832 and 1836. Between present-day Flemington and Dog Trap Road (now Woodville Road), Parramatta Road travelled in a wide arc up to 1.25 miles (2.01 km) south of the present route, to avoid marshy areas around Haslams Creek and Duck River . Continuing due west from Flemington, it crossed Duck River near

2040-564: The Main Roads Board deviated the route north from Old Bowenfels to Marrangaroo, using Trunk Road 55 (Mudgee Road, today Castlereagh Highway ). From Marrangaroo a new road was built westward, running south of Wallerawang to meet Mitchell's 1830 deviation immediately east of Mount Lambie. This route avoids the long, steep gradients either side of Cox's River, which were the main drawback of Mitchell's route. Great Western Highway today therefore consists of Parramatta Road to Parramatta,

2125-653: The Roads Act of 1993 updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Great Western Highway today retains its declaration as Highway 5, from the intersection of Broadway and Quay Streets at Railway Square in Haymarket to the interchange with M4 Western Motorway at Leonay, then from the end of Western Motorway at the interchange with Governors Drive at Lapstone to Bathurst. The first recorded major improvement to

2210-626: The Strada statale 7 Via Appia , which broadly follows the route of the Roman road of the same name . Other examples are the Strada statale 1 Via Aurelia ( Via Aurelia ) and the Strada statale 4 Via Salaria ( Via Salaria ). Since the reforms following the birth of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, the State took charge of the construction and maintenance of a primary network of roads for connections between

2295-503: The colony's most important early roadways, and for many years remained one of Sydney's premier thoroughfares. By 1810, Parramatta Road had officially open to traffic and was financed during a large portion of the 1800s by a toll , with toll booths located at what now is Sydney University and the Duck River . From Parramatta to Penrith, a road along the current alignment of the Great Western Highway (except at Prospect and Penrith)

2380-846: The local government area of the City of Penrith and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. Emu Plains is on the western side of the Nepean River , located at the foot of the Blue Mountains . Prior to European settlement, what is now the suburb of Emu Plains was located on the border of the Western Sydney-based Dharug people and the Southern Highlands-based Gandangara people , whose land extended into

2465-474: The railway station , whereas the original alignment crossed the railway via a level crossing at the north end of Katoomba Street and ran along the western side of the railway. Immediately west of where the highway now crosses the railway due to this deviation, the highway was realigned over a distance of 1 km in 2004 to remove the sharp bend at 'Shell Corner'. In Bathurst, the Denison Bridge (1870)

2550-399: The 1867 Victoria Bridge . At Leonay , M4 Western Motorway reconnects with the highway as it begins its ascent into the Blue Mountains . It intersects with Darling Causeway at Mount Victoria which heads north to connect with Bells Line of Road . From Mount Victoria, the highway descends via Victoria Pass into the Hartley Valley and then passes through the western suburbs of Lithgow where it

2635-522: The Blue Mountains. The existence of other, less direct routes had been known as far back as 1797, but due to the need to prevent convicts from believing that escape from the hemmed-in Sydney region was possible, knowledge of the expeditions confirming the existence of routes across the Blue Mountains was suppressed. Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth travelled as far west as the point they named Mount Blaxland , 25 kilometres (16 mi) southwest of where Lithgow now stands. From this point they were able to see that

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2720-683: The Blue Mountains. The local Dharug people were known as the Mulgoa. They lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle governed by traditional laws, which had their origins in the Dreamtime . They lived in huts made of bark called 'gunyahs', hunted kangaroos and emus for meat, and gathered yams , berries, and other native plants. The first British colonizers to visit the area surveyed Emu Plains in August 1790 led by Watkin Tench . They named it Emu Island due to

2805-689: The Great Western Road to Emu Plains, Coxs Road to Hartley (other than Mitchell's deviations at Lapstone and Mount York), Mitchell's route from Hartley to Old Bowenfels, the Main Roads Board route from Old Bowenfels to Mount Lambie, Mitchell's road from Mount Lambie to Kelso, and McBrian's road from Kelso to central Bathurst. The passing of the Main Roads Act of 1924 through the Parliament of New South Wales provided for

2890-503: The Great Western Road was also deviated at this point for a second time in 1926 by the then Main Roads Board, which rerouted it via the disused 1867 stone arch railway viaduct across Knapsack Gully and around the southern side of Lapstone Hill to gain the first plateau in the ascent of the Blue Mountains. As this viaduct had held only a single railway track, its deck was widened in 1939 to its present two lane configuration. The viaduct

2975-549: The Lewers' daughters donated the site, buildings, gardens and a substantial collection of art to Penrith City Council. The gallery was opened in August 1981 by the New South Wales Premier, Neville Wran . Every year tens of thousands of visitors inspect the gallery's exhibitions and use the gardens and café. Emu Plains has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: St Paul's Church School opened in 1848, and

3060-528: The Western Freeway/Motorway from the 1970s, the definition of Great Western Highway as State Highway 5 outside inner Sydney remained virtually untouched, until the western extension of Western Freeway from Emu Plains to Lapstone in June 1993, resulting in a roughly-2km gap between the beginning of the motorway and the interchange with Russell Street where the highway recommences. The passing of

3145-537: The approaches to Bathurst. This route turned north 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of O'Connell to run northwest to where Kelso is now located, then west across the Macquarie River into Bathurst. The section from south of O'Connell to Kelso is now part of the Bathurst-Oberon Road, and from Kelso into central Bathurst still remains as part of Great Western Highway. When Major Thomas Mitchell

3230-718: The church building consecrated in 1872. The church is now part of the Emu Plains Anglican Church. Our Lady of the Way is a part of the Catholic Diocese of Parramatta in Western Sydney. The church and school buildings were built in about 1860 on a government land grant. Emu Plains Community Baptist Church began ministering in August 2001. The services were initially held in the Emu Plains Community Centre, until

3315-644: The cities of the Central Valley , Route 128 in Massachusetts, or parts of Route 101 in New Hampshire). Each state has its own system for numbering and its own marker. The default marker is a white circle containing a black sans serif number (often inscribed in a black square or slightly rounded square), according to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). However each state

3400-700: The declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (later Transport for NSW ). Great Western Highway was declared (as Main Road No. 5) on 8 August 1928, from the interchange with Parramatta Road and City Road in the City of Sydney, via Penrith, Katoomba, and Lithgow to Bathurst; with the passing of the Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929 to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, this

3485-522: The descent of Mount York, down the western side of the Blue Mountains. In improving the eastern ascent Mitchell adhered largely to Cox's route, which follows the southern side of an east-falling gully to reach the plateau at where Blaxland is now located. However, he engaged Scottish engineer David Lennox to build a stone arch bridge, now the Lennox Bridge , across the mouth of a particularly deep side gully. This route, known as Mitchell's Pass,

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3570-487: The emus they sighted there, and in the mistaken belief that the land was actually an island, which was the result of the occasionally flooded river giving the appearance of it being an island. When Governor Lachlan Macquarie toured the area on the 15th of April 1814, he had realized the misconception and was the first to use the name Emu Plains. William Cox started building a road over the Blue Mountains from Emu Plains on 18 July 1814. A government farm using convict labor

3655-483: The highway between Leonay and 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) west of Katoomba, generally working westward. This work incorporated the dual carriageway Springwood bypass, opened in 1967. West of Katoomba, there is a further 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) of dual carriageway on the River Lett Hill, and 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) of dual carriageway from Magpie Hollow Road at Old Bowenfels to Lidsdale State Forest. This

3740-473: The highway meets Woodville Road and continues west onto an on-ramp for M4 Western Motorway, while the highway-designated route turns sharply to the north along Church Street, before turning west again at the southern fringe of the Parramatta central business district, continuing west across western metropolitan Sydney to Penrith , north of the central business district, where it crosses the Nepean River via

3825-577: The highway reverts to a four lane undivided configuration through Penrith shopping centre, widens to six lanes at the Castlereagh Road intersection, reverts to two lanes west from Castlereagh Road to Russell Street, and is then four lanes undivided with sealed shoulders from Russell Street to the base of Mitchells Pass, where it has been truncated. Between 1981 and 2015 the NSW Government Roads & Maritime Services duplicated

3910-547: The junction of the Mitchell and Mid-Western Highways . At numerous points along its journey, the highway transverses or is transversed by the Main Western railway line . Major river crossings occur east of Emu Plains (Nepean), near Wallerawang (Coxs), and east of Bathurst ( Macquarie ). It consists of two of Australia's most historic roads – Parramatta Road, and the full length of the former Great Western Road, from Parramatta to Bathurst. Initial travel between Sydney and

3995-490: The lack of sunlight. In the early 1960s the highway was deviated east of Leura to cross under the railway at Scott Parade (which was itself part of the former highway route) and run along the north side of the railway to rejoin the previous route at Leura Mall. In 1967, the highway was deviated to bypass Springwood shopping centre, eliminating two narrow underpasses of the railway from the highway route. The previous route remain in use for local traffic as Macquarie Road. In 1968

4080-541: The main cities; in 1865 the Lanza law introduced the classification of roads between national, provincial and municipal (see Annex F, art.10) and the Royal Decree of 17 November 1865, n. 2633 listed the first 38 national roads. Italian state highways are identified by a number and a name. In road signs and maps the number is preceded by the acronym SS, an acronym for strada statale ("state road"). The nomenclature of

4165-551: The main gateway to the Blue Mountains, the suburb provides scenic mountainous beauty at its foot. Its attractions include a selection of old colonial-era buildings. Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest is an art gallery established at the former property of artists Gerald and Margo Lewers . It is at 86 River Road, Emu Plains. The property was bought by the Lewers in the 1940s, and in 1950 it became their permanent home and studio. Gerald died in 1962, and Margo continued to live and work there until her death in 1978. In 1980

4250-850: The moved to Melrose Hall in 2005. At the 2021 census , there were 8,126 residents in Emu Plains. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.0% of the population. 81.3% of residents were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 4.5%, New Zealand 1.6%, Ireland 0.6%, Philippines 0.6%, and Scotland 0.5%. The top responses for religious affiliation were No Religion 31.7%, Catholic 26.8% and Anglican 19.2%. The top ancestries were Australian 41.6%, English 40.0%, Irish 13.7%, Scottish 9.9% and German 3.8%. 89.0% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Greek 0.7%, Arabic 0.4%, Hindi 0.3%, Mandarin 0.3% and Croatian 0.3%. Until 1963, Emu Plains

4335-500: The national transcontinental Trans-Canada Highway system, which is marked by distinct signs, but has no uniform numeric designation across the country. In the eastern provinces, for instance, an unnumbered (though sometimes with a named route branch) Trans-Canada route marker is co-signed with a numbered provincial sign, with the provincial route often continuing alone outside the Trans-Canada Highway section. However, in

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4420-464: The need to divert the railway can be gained from the gradient of the highway as it climbs west from Hare Street to Lovett Street. A number of deviations were built in 1929: In 1930 the level crossing at Bowenfels was replaced by an underpass. Victoria Pass was upgraded in 1932 to give a constant width of 8.5 m, with a minor deviation built at the foot of the pass. In 1957 a short deviation immediately west of Linden eliminated two narrow overpasses of

4505-482: The next important roads under the National highways . The number has two, three, or four digits. Highways with two-digit numbers routes are called State-funded local highways. State roads ( Turkish : Devlet yolu ) are primary roads, mostly under the responsibility of General Directorate of Highways (KGM) except in metropolitan city centers where the responsibility falls into the local government. The roads have

4590-589: The original cutting. In June 1993 the highway route was severed at Emu Plains with the closure to road traffic of the Knapsack Gully Viaduct . This occurred in conjunction with the westward extension of the M4 Motorway from its terminus since 1971 at Russell Street, Emu Plains. This extension connects directly to the highway at Lapstone , bypassing the viaduct. The portion of Great Western Highway west from Russell Street to Mitchells Pass Road

4675-401: The parts of Major Mitchell's 1830 alignment which had been deviated in 1929 to ease gradients. This work was extended eastward to Mount Lambie in stages during the late 1980s and early 1990s. A second Cox's River deviation, to replace the 1929 deviation, was completed in 1993, between Marrangaroo and Mount Lambie. At Katoomba the highway was deviated in 1985 to travel along the eastern side of

4760-497: The pre-existing road. This road remains in existence – from Mount Lambie west it remains as the route of the current highway (with deviations) but the section adjacent to Cox's River was inundated by the construction of Lake Lyell for Wallerawang Power Station in the late 1970s. Mitchell was also concerned to improve the worst sections of the road, which were the climb from the Cumberland Plain , on which Sydney sits, and

4845-428: The present Mona Street bridge, turning north near the present Granville Park to finish at George Street in Parramatta, between Pitt and Church Streets. This was deviated circa 1840 to follow the present route. Few traces of the original route remain. At Mount Victoria, at the western edge of the Blue Mountains, the route of Cox's road turned north to Mount York , from where it descended into the Hartley Valley. This pass

4930-500: The railway overpasses between Lapstone Hill and Mount Victoria were replaced as part of the duplication of the Main Western railway. These bridges were of brick arch construction. They were in turn replaced in the mid-1950s to obtain the necessary height clearances for overhead wiring for the electrification of the Main Western Railway from Penrith to Bowenfels. In 1912 Victoria Pass was superseded by Berghofers Pass, which followed

5015-401: The railway, both of which had right angle bend approaches from both directions. These bridges would have had to have been replaced in any event to allow for overhead wiring for the electrification to Bowenfels of the Main Western Railway. Such replacements occurred east of Linden, further west of Linden near Bull's Camp, east of Lawson, at Medlow Bath and east of Mount Victoria, and in these cases

5100-401: The replacement bridges were located at a skew angle to eliminate right angle bend approaches, with the earlier bridges left for pedestrian use. In 1958 the 'Forty Bends’, where the Highway runs along the foot of Hassans Walls approaching Lithgow, were eased. The fact that this section of the highway is on the southern side of a very high escarpment poses severe ice problems during winter, due to

5185-488: The rock for Cox's 1815 road. This was severed in 1868 by the construction of the Springwood-Mount Victoria section of the Main Western Railway. The railway itself was deviated at this point in the 1920s when it was duplicated, and a cutting on the original alignment of the railway now forms the top section of the southern face of the highway cutting, the terrace in the face of the cutting being the bed of

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5270-399: The route of Great Western Highway was the construction in 1806 of ten bridges along Parramatta Road. In attempts to improve the gradient of the descent from the Blue Mountains plateau to the floor of the Hartley Valley, Lawson's Long Alley was opened in 1824. This still did not prove satisfactory and construction of a second deviation, known as Lockyer's Pass, was commenced. However this route

5355-429: The route of the Great Western Road it remained trafficable, but the destruction of the bridge at Phil's Falls on the Fish River in 1930 meant it was no longer a through route, and parts became untrafficable. However, most of this route remains in existence as a series of local roads. The original route had only been in existence for eight years when, in 1823, Assistant Surveyor James McBrian identified an improved route on

5440-512: The same state, or nearby routes in another state. As with the National Routes and National Highways, State Routes are being phased out in most states and territories in favour of alphanumeric routes. However, despite the fact that Victoria has fully adopted alphanumeric routes in regional areas, state route numbers are still used extensively within the city of Melbourne as a part of its Metropolitan Route Numbering Scheme . Brazil

5525-480: The same year a new bridge, Victoria Bridge , was nearing completion adjacent to the road crossing, as part of the Penrith-Weatherboard (Wentworth Falls) section of the Main Western Railway. Its deck was modified to accommodate road traffic as well as the single-track railway. This bridge continued in dual use until 1907 when the current steel truss railway bridge was built alongside, and the 1867 bridge

5610-468: The settlement of Parramatta was by water along the Parramatta River . Sometime between 1789 and 1791 an overland track was made to provide an official land route between the two settlements. Parramatta Road dates to the 1792 formation of a route linking Sydney to the settlement of Parramatta, formalised under the direction of Surveyor-General Augustus Alt in 1797. Parramatta Road became one of

5695-425: The site of Bathurst. Within a year, Macquarie commissioned William Cox to construct a road west from Emu Plains, following Evans' route, and this road was finished in 1815. Macquarie himself travelled across it soon after completion, established and named Bathurst, and named the road the Great Western Road. The section of the Great Western Road as far west as Mount Victoria , with a small number of minor deviations,

5780-532: The state highways managed by ANAS generally follows the SS n scheme, where n is a number ranging from 1 ( Aurelia ) up to 700 (of the Royal Palace of Caserta ) depending on the date of establishment of the state highway. Newly built ANAS roads, not yet classified, are identified by the acronym NSA, an acronym for nuova strada ANAS ("new ANAS road"). State highways can be technically defined as main extra-urban roads (type B road) or as secondary extra-urban roads (type C road). State highways that cross towns with

5865-418: The west, considered part of the Intercity network . While a long distance from Sydney city, there are many express services from Emu Plains to the city. Emu Plains is also serviced by Blue Mountains Transit . Emu Plains can easily be accessed from Penrith via the Great Western Highway . Access from further east is best obtained by the M4 Western Motorway . If travelling east from the Blue Mountains, access

5950-473: The western provinces, the two parallel Trans-Canada routes are consistently numbered with Trans-Canada route markers; as Highways 1 and 16 respectively. Canada also has a designated National Highway System , but the system is completely unsigned, aside from the Trans-Canada routes. This makes Canada unique in that national highway designations are generally secondary to subnational routes. In Germany , state roads ( Landesstraßen or Staatsstraßen ) are

6035-410: The word "state" in this sense means "government" or "public" (as in state housing and state schools ), not a division of a country. New Zealand's state highway system is a nationwide network of roads covering the North Island and the South Island . As of 2006, just under 100 roads have a "State Highway" designation. The NZ Transport Agency administers them. The speed limit for most state highways

6120-504: The worst of the almost impenetrable terrain of the Blue Mountains was behind them, and that there were easy routes available to reach the rolling countryside they could see off to the west. Macquarie then despatched Surveyor George Evans to follow Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth's route and to push further west until he reached arable land. Evans travelled west until he reached the Fish River , and followed it downstream until he reached

6205-407: Was amended to State Highway 5 on 8 April 1929. Its eastern end was extended to the intersection of Broadway and Wattle Street on 22 February 1967 (part of Sydney's Ring Road 1 at the time). It was extended east again to its current terminus at Railway Square in Haymarket on 22 January 1993. As the main route for traffic from the Blue Mountains into Sydney was superseded from Great Western Highway to

6290-560: Was appointed as Surveyor-General in 1828, one of the first matters to which he turned his attention was the improvement of the Great Western Road. Mitchell's attention was focussed on providing a more direct and easily graded route for the Great Western Road. To this end, he surveyed a route running northwest from Hartley via Mt Walker to Meadow Flat, crossing the Great Dividing Range at Mount Lambie, then running in an almost straight line westward via Browns Hill to Kelso, to meet

6375-415: Was bypassed in 1991 by a realignment of the Highway where it crosses the Macquarie River into Bathurst city centre. Because of its heritage value it was retained for use by cyclists and pedestrians. During 1991–1993 a massive cutting was made to improve and widen the alignment of the highway immediately east of Woodford. At the top of the southern side of this cutting can be seen the rudimentary excavation of

6460-420: Was closed to motor traffic when the M4 Motorway was extended west from Russell Street to connect to the highway at Lapstone in 1994. West of Knapsack Gully, although now widened to four lanes, the 1926 route of the highway is still in use. It uses a long stretch of abandoned railway formation – the section from Zig Zag Street to Blaxland station is located on the original 1867 railway alignment. An indication of

6545-414: Was completed as follows: State highway Roads maintained by a state or province include both nationally numbered highways and un-numbered state highways. Depending on the state, "state highway" may be used for one meaning and "state road" or "state route" for the other. In some countries such as New Zealand , the word "state" is used in its sense of a sovereign state or country. By this meaning

6630-584: Was completed in 1833 and superseded what is now called Old Bathurst Road, located to the north of the route. The Mitchell's Pass and Lennox Bridge served as the main route to the Blue Mountains for 93 years until 1926, when the Great Western Highway was re-routed via sections of the former Lapstone Zig Zag including the Knapsack Viaduct . After protracted arguments first with Governor Ralph Darling and then his successor Richard Bourke , and ignoring orders, Mitchell surveyed, designed and had built what

6715-532: Was completed in 2002. From Railway Square to Woodville Road, the highway was widened to its present width when it was reconstructed in reinforced concrete in the 1930s. From Woodville Road west to The Northern Road the highway was widened, generally progressively westward, from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s. This section is a combination of six lanes with median strip, six lanes with wide landscaped median, and four lanes undivided. At The Northern Road in Kingswood

6800-466: Was constructed soon after completion of the Sydney–Parramatta Road. In 1813, acting on the instructions of Governor of New South Wales Lachlan Macquarie , Gregory Blaxland , William Lawson and William Wentworth led an 1813 expedition that travelled west from Emu Plains and, by staying to the ridges, were able to confirm the existence of a passable route directly west from Sydney across

6885-528: Was established in 1813 with 1,326 convicts growing local agriculture. It closed in 1833. The land was sold to establish the village of Emu Plains. Emu Ferry Post Office opened on 1 April 1863 and was renamed Emu Plains in 1882. In the 1880's the Emu and Prospect Gravel and Road Metal company began removing stones from the Nepean River. They were turned into concrete and road-base. A railway siding, which

6970-474: Was given over solely to road traffic. This bridge remains in use for Great Western Highway. The design of this bridge is almost identical to that of the 1863 Menangle Railway Bridge , also over the Nepean River. In 1870 the Denison Bridge , a wrought iron truss bridge , was built across the Macquarie River at Bathurst. This replaced an earlier wooden bridge. In the first few years of the 20th century

7055-473: Was not completed, as its construction was abandoned in favour of construction of Mitchell's route via Victoria Pass. Originally the Great Western Road crossed the Nepean River at Penrith by means of a ferry adjacent to the Log Cabin Hotel. This was superseded in 1856 by a bridge which was destroyed by a flood in 1857. A second bridge was opened in 1860, and was destroyed by the record flood of 1867. In

7140-424: Was the major piece of engineering on the original route, and when Macquarie travelled the new road in 1815, he named it Cox's Pass in honour of the builder. From the foot of Mount York the road resumed its westerly direction to where Hartley now stands. However, from here it ran via the present-day Glenroy, Mount Blaxland, Cut Hill Road, Pitts Corner, Phils Falls, Mount Olive Road, Carlwood Road and Sidmouth Valley to

7225-570: Was to be expanded into a short branch, was first laid in from the Main Western Line at Emu Plains in 1884. Railway operations, which included the line's own locomotives, continued until 1967 when only a siding, shunted by government trains, remained. All railway operations ceased in 1993. Emu Plains has a number of landmark buildings: The main commercial centre is Lennox Village (formerly Centro Lennox), named after David Lennox .The shopping centre features Aldi and Woolworths . There

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