68-765: The Loddon River , an inland river of the north–central catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin , is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Loddon Mallee regions of the Australian state of Victoria . The headwaters of the Loddon River rise on the northern slopes of the Great Dividing Range east of Daylesford and descend to flow north into the Little Murray River , near Swan Hill . The river
136-524: A lesser extent Murray cod. A vertical slot fishway was constructed next to the Kerang Weir in 2008. The main fish species in the river's lower reaches are redfin, golden perch and Murray cod. There are weirs in Bridgewater and Kerang to keep water in the towns, but otherwise the river can dry up in summer. There is current work going on to determine and implement suitable environmental flows in
204-516: A problem because they feed by sucking gravel from the riverbed and taking all the edible material off it, before returning the rest to the water. This stirs up all the sediment, reducing the quality of the water. A project for developing daughterless carp shows promise for eliminating carp from the river system. Cane toads have entered the upper reaches of the Darling Basin and there are several reports of individuals being found further down
272-481: A quarter of the Basin lays in the state, the commission was an advisory body with no authority for enforcement of provisions. For a long time the commission was only concerned with water quantity until salinity became a problem. This led to minor reforms in 1982 in which water quality became part of the commission's responsibilities. However, it was soon recognised that a new organisational structure which considered
340-529: A single carriageway road and shares a concurrency through south-western Bendigo, widening again to a dual carriageway through Kangaroo Flat to eventually meet the southern end of Calder Alternative Highway at an interchange in Ravenswood . Calder Highway becomes Calder Freeway at the Ravenswood interchange and continues in southerly direction as a four-lane, dual-carriageway rural freeway which bypasses
408-480: A south-easterly, and then easterly, direction past Calder Park Raceway and Keilor , before eventually terminating at an interchange with Tullamarine Freeway at Airport West . Within the urban section of Calder Freeway (between Kings Road and Tullamarine Freeway ), the standard travel time, in each direction, is 10 minutes; 5 minutes between Kings Road and the Western Ring Road and 5 minutes between
476-452: A southerly direction, meeting Mallee Highway at Ouyen , then in a south-easterly direction through Sea Lake , Wycheproof , Charlton and meeting the northern end of Calder Alternative Highway at Marong eventually to the western suburbs of Bendigo , where it widens to a four-lane, dual-carriageway road as it weaves through the rural city, intersecting with Loddon Valley Highway and meeting with Midland Highway , where it narrows back to
544-468: A tram line – was eventually bypassed by a freeway-standard road in 1972 to terminate at a junction with Lancefield Road (later upgraded to Tullamarine Freeway ), rejoining Calder Highway at the western end of Niddrie; the freeway-standard was extended further west to East Keilor (the future location of the Western Ring Road interchange) in 1975, and to Keilor by the early 1980s. However, it
612-468: A very low biodiversity. Over Christmas 2018 and January 2019 there were two mass deaths of fish in the waters of the Basin, the first numbering 10,000, the second in the hundreds of thousands. Species affected were Murray cod , golden perch , silver perch and bony herring. Some blamed the draining of water from the Menindee Lakes by WaterNSW , with only 2.5% of the original water volume in
680-459: A year to the Basin for use in Australia's irrigated agriculture industry, which is worth about A$ 3 billion per annum, representing more than 40% of the gross value of the nation's agricultural production. The Basin was once home to a large number of Aboriginal people whose traditional lifestyle and cultures were gradually altered by the arrival of Europeans, while others were outright killed by
748-651: Is crossed by West Road, O'Donoghues Bridge Road, Baulch Road and the Wells Bridge which carries the Lake Charm Road. The Loddon River was named by Thomas Mitchell in 1836 after the River Loddon in the English counties of Berkshire and Hampshire . As the river is relatively long, Aboriginal peoples from several cultural groups lived near the river course. In an undefined Aboriginal language ,
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#1732776482231816-639: Is impounded by the Cairn Curran and Laanecoorie reservoirs. The Loddon River is the second longest river in Victoria after the Goulburn and, along with the Avoca River , drains a substantial part of central Victoria. From source to mouth , the river is joined by nineteen minor tributaries; and descends 567 metres (1,860 ft) over its 392-kilometre (244 mi) course . An anabranch of
884-571: Is impounded by the Tullaroop Reservoir (72,950ML).The river then flows into Laanecoorie Reservoir (12,000 ML) at Laanecoorie and then to Newbridge , where it flows due north to Bridgewater On Loddon , where waterskiing , swimming and fishing are popular recreational pursuits. The river then passes Serpentine with high summer flows that commence at the small concrete weir to the Loddon Weir, also known as Fernihurst Weir. After
952-530: Is one of the physiographic provinces of the larger East Australian Basins division, and encompasses the smaller Naracoorte Platform and Encounter Shelf physiographic sections. Total water flow in the Murray–Darling Basin 1885 to the present has averaged around 24,000 gigalitres (24,000 hm ; 19,000,000 acre⋅ft ) per year. This is the lowest rate of the world's major river systems. About 6.0 percent of Australia's total rainwater falls into
1020-640: The Great Dividing Range , it drains southwest into the Great Australian Bight and spans most of the states of New South Wales and Victoria , the Australian Capital Territory , and parts of the states of Queensland (the lower third) and South Australia (the southeastern corner). The Basin is 3,375 kilometres (2,097 mi) in length, with the Murray River being 2,508 km (1,558 mi) long. Most of
1088-664: The Guide to the Proposed Murray–Darling Basin Plan , was released in October 2010 as the first part of a three-stage process to address the problems of the Murray–Darling Basin. The Plan was in response to the 2000s Australian drought , and designed to secure the long-term ecological health of the Murray–Darling Basin. This entailed cutting existing water allocations and tree growth environmental flows . The Basin Plan
1156-575: The Murray River into Victoria over the Abbotsford Bridge , then continues in a southeasterly direction as a two-lane, single carriageway rural highway through Merbein and intersects with Sturt Highway just outside the major regional town of Mildura , where widens to a four-lane, dual-carriageway road through southern Mildura and Irymple , in the state's north-west. It narrows back to a two-lane single carriageway road and continues in
1224-609: The Ramsar Convention of Wetlands of International Importance. The rivers listed below comprise the Murray–Darling Basin and its direct significant tributaries, with elevations of their confluence with the downstream river. The tributary with the highest elevation is Swampy Plain River that rises in the Snowy Mountains, below Mount Kosciuszko at an elevation of 2,120 metres (6,960 ft), and ends merging with
1292-576: The Victorian Government completed the conversion to freeway standard from Melbourne to Bendigo on 20 April 2009. Calder Alternate Highway connects to Calder Highway at either end – just north of Ravenswood , and at Marong – and provides a bypass west of Bendigo. Calder Highway commences at the intersection with Silver City Highway in Curlwaa (officially a branch of Silver City Highway, yet sign-posted as Calder Highway) and crosses
1360-530: The tributaries of the Murray River , Australia's longest river , and the Darling River , a right tributary of the Murray and Australia's third-longest river. The Basin, which includes six of Australia's seven longest rivers and covers around one-seventh of the Australian landmass, is one of the country's most significant agricultural areas providing one-third of Australia's food supply. Located west of
1428-426: The 1,061,469 km (409,835 sq mi) basin is flat, low-lying and far inland, and receives little direct rainfall. The many rivers it contains tend to be long and slow-flowing, and carry a volume of water that is large only by Australian standards. The Snowy Mountains Scheme provides some security of water flows to the Murray–Darling Basin, providing approximately 2,100 gigalitres (7.4×10 cu ft) of water
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#17327764822311496-537: The 1890s. Currently, 4 major reservoirs, 14 lock and weir structures, and five coastal barrages interject the water flowing down the Murray–Darling. Of the approximately 13,000 gigalitres (13,000 hm ; 10,500,000 acre⋅ft) of flow in the Basin, which studies have shown to be divertible, 11,500 gigalitres (11,500 hm ; 9,320,000 acre⋅ft) are removed for irrigation, industrial use, and domestic supply. Agricultural irrigation accounts for about 95 percent of
1564-474: The Basin, the Murray and Darling, bring water from the high ranges of the east and carry it west then south through long flat and dry inland areas, often resulting in alluvial channel wetlands, such as The (Great) Cumbung Swamp , at the terminus of the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee Rivers. Nevertheless, these waters are subject to major diversions for municipal drinking supplies and irrigated agriculture that began in
1632-463: The Basin. In most years only half of this quantity reaches the sea and in dry years much less. Estimated total annual flows for the Basin have ranged from 5,000 gigalitres (5,000 hm ; 4,100,000 acre⋅ft) in 1902 to 57,000 gigalitres (57,000 hm ; 46,000,000 acre⋅ft) in 1956. Despite the magnitude of the Basin, the hydrology of the streams within it is quite varied. These waters are divided into four types: The two principal rivers of
1700-854: The Commonwealth and State governments and numerous submissions from interested stakeholders and the community, the Basin Plan became law in November 2012 and can now be implemented. Calder Highway Calder Highway is a rural highway in Australia, linking Mildura and the Victoria/New South Wales border to Bendigo , in North Central Victoria . South of Bendigo, where the former highway has been upgraded to freeway-standard, Calder Freeway links to Melbourne , subsuming former alignments of Calder Highway;
1768-608: The Country Roads Board. North Western Highway was declared a State Highway on 1 July 1925, cobbled from a collection of roads from Melbourne through Kyneton , Castlemaine , Bendigo , Sea Lake and Ouyen to Mildura (for a total of 324 miles), subsuming the original declarations of Melbourne-Bendigo Road, Charlton-Bridgewater-Bendigo Road, Charlton-Wycheproof Road, Wycheproof-Sea Lake Road, Ouyen-Sea Lake Road and Ouyen-Mildura Road as Main Roads. North-Western Highway
1836-1068: The Drummond-Vaughan Forest Road crosses the river at three locations and the Porcupine Ridge Road crosses near the Vaughan Springs area. Further river crossings are encountered at Kemps Bridge Road, the Midland Highway south of Guildford, as well as Punt Road and the Pyrenees Highway in Newstead. The river is crossed by the Baringhup Road, and subsequently by the Baringhup West-Eastville Road, Rumbolds Road, Pickerings Lane, Back Eddington Road and Bendigo-Maryborough Road at Eddington. At Laanecoorie,
1904-588: The Gillard Government and following a period of sustained criticism of the Authority and the implementation of the proposed draft Basin plan. He was replaced by former New South Wales Planning Minister, Craig Knowles . In late May 2012, the revised plan was forwarded to state water ministers. It did not alter the recommendation to cut 2,750 gigalitres (2.75 km ; 2,230,000 acre⋅ft) of water entitlements. Following much negotiation between
1972-608: The Loddon River may be found in the upper reaches of the river. The river rises below Musk near Trentham and Lyonville from where it heads northward to Glenlyon and on to Loddon Falls. It then flows generally northward through Guildford and Newstead , 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Bendigo . After Newstead the river flows into the Cairn Curran Reservoir (147,000 ML), before emerging at Baringhup and continuing north to Eddington . The Tullaroop Creek tributary, which joins just above Laanecoorie Reservoir,
2040-679: The Melton Highway and the Western Ring Road is shown in the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan as part of the F4 Freeway corridor, which extends past the Tullamarine Freeway and Bell Street to Templestowe . In 2008, VicRoads completed the widening of the Calder Freeway from the Western Ring Road to Melton Highway . The road was widened from 2 lanes each direction to 3 lanes in each direction. The speed limit
2108-552: The Murray River, descending 1,860 metres (6,100 ft). The ordering of the Basin, from downstream to upstream, is: The Basin affects five states and territory governments, which according to the Constitution , are responsible for managing water resources. The River Murray Commission was established in 1917. Under the River Murray Waters Agreement , which did not include Queensland though about
Loddon River - Misplaced Pages Continue
2176-498: The Murray–Darling. These structures and irrigation implements were ideal when there was a steady flow of water. However, during "the Big Dry", as the early 2000s drought came to be known, Australian farmers experienced a scarcity unlike ever before. The drought was so severe that numerous rivers and streams such as the Murray–Darling stopped flowing. The Basin contains more than 30,000 wetlands . Eleven of these are protected under
2244-654: The Ring Road and Tullamarine Freeway . Between Red Cliffs and Wycheproof the highway has a speed limit of 110 km/h. The passing of the Country Roads Act of 1912 through the Parliament of Victoria provided for the establishment of the Country Roads Board (later VicRoads ) and their ability to declare Main Roads, taking responsibility for the management, construction and care of
2312-679: The States and Territories usually on a 50:50 basis. As a major road link between Melbourne, Bendigo, and the state's northwest, supporting the region's primary manufacturing and tourism industries, Calder Highway was declared a Road of National Importance between Melbourne and Bendigo in December 1996. The passing of the Road Management Act 2004 granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to VicRoads : in 2004, VicRoads re-declared
2380-610: The Victorian Farmers Federation and Wine Group Growers' Australia. Conversely, support for the Murray–Darling Basin plan has been received by various groups, including Australian Conservation Foundation , and Environment Victoria . New legal advice from Commonwealth government lawyers is changing the plan. The Government's interpretation is that the plan must give equal weight to the environmental, social, and economic impacts of proposed cuts to irrigation. Environmentalists and South Australian irrigators, at
2448-628: The cause to (naturally occurring) hypoxic blackwater . Initial investigations by the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) included single water samples at six sites and were criticised as inadequate. Subsequently it was announced that the New South Wales government will treat the deaths as a "pollution incident", thus giving the EPA greater investigative powers; earlier testing
2516-401: The current status of their population. The study found that there were: Historical records show that the previous abundances of fish provided a reliable food source. The bountiful fish became concentrated when the early stages of a flood left shallow water across the floodplain. Today, roughly 24 native freshwater fish and another 15-25 marine and estuarine species are existent in the Basin,
2584-739: The end of the river in South Australia, say that the authority should stick to its original figure. In October 2010, a parliamentary inquiry into the economic impacts of the plan was announced. In late October 2010 the Water Minister, Tony Burke, played down the prospect of a High Court challenge to the Murray–Darling Basin plan, as confusion continued over new legal advice released by the Government. In response to community concerns that MDBA had put environmental issues first over social and economic needs, Burke released new advice on
2652-596: The lakes being left; after the first fish kill, both the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and WaterNSW blamed the ongoing drought affecting Australia, while the DPI blamed the second kill on a disruption of an algal bloom caused by a sudden fall in temperature. In March 2023, millions of fish were reported dead along the Darling River at Menindee, following a heatwave. As the cleanup began, police attributed
2720-647: The names for the river are Yolelerwil-meerin and Byerr , both with no defined meaning. In the Djadjawurrung language , the names for the river are Yarrayn , Minne-minne and Pullergil-yaluk , all with no clearly defined meaning. In the Wembawemba language , the name for the river is Woppoon , with no clearly defined meaning. In the Djadjawurrung and the Barababaraba languages, the name for
2788-754: The national perspective was needed for effective management. The Murray–Darling Basin Agreement was first adopted in 1985 but it wasn't until 1993 that its full legal status was enacted. The Agreement led to the creation of a number of new organisations under what is known as the Murray–Darling Basin Initiative. These included the Murray–Darling Basin Ministerial Council and the Murray–Darling Basin Commission . The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA)
Loddon River - Misplaced Pages Continue
2856-558: The next 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) of river up to the Kerang Weir. The final stretch of the river flows through saltbush and black box forest. The river ends at its confluence with the Little Murray River at Benjeroop, near Swan Hill. Tributaries to the left of the river include: Tributaries to the right of the river include: The river is crossed by the Daylesford-Malmsbury Road at Glenlyon;
2924-583: The plan's environmental outcomes. With the release of the Guide to the Proposed Murray–Darling Basin Plan there have been a number of protests and voiced concerns about the plan in rural towns that the MDBA visited to present the plan to consultation meetings. More than 5,000 people attended a MDBA meeting in Griffith where Griffith Mayor, Mike Neville, said the plan would "obliterate" Murrumbidgee valley communities. Other groups also echo this feeling, such as
2992-662: The pre- Moomba tournament in February and the Bridgewater Ski Club Tournament. Additionally, a 90-metre (300 ft) swimming area is designated at the Flour Mill Weir. Fish found between Bridgewater to Serpentine include Murray cod and golden perch . The water downstream from the Loddon Weir can range between 5 and 7 metres (16 and 23 ft) deep and provides fishing opportunities for redfin , golden perch , silver perch , carp and to
3060-405: The public meeting that more work is being done to look at how the proposed cuts would affect regional communities. He stated: "Importantly, we want to make sure the social and economic impacts—which under any sort of scenario is very significant—were fully teased out". Taylor resigned as he allegedly believed that the overriding principle should be the environmental outcome which was in conflict with
3128-479: The requirements of the Water Act . Burke stated that the Act does allow for the authority to "optimise" the needs of all three areas, but constitutional lawyer, George Williams, had cast doubts over the interpretation of the laws, stating it could be subject to a legal challenge. The MDBA announced in November 2010 that it might be forced to push back the release of its final plan for the river system until early 2012. The then MDBA chairman, Mike Taylor , reassured
3196-417: The river is Gunbungwerro , with werro and wurru meaning "lips" or "mouth". In the Gannawarra and Barababaraba languages, the name for the river is Mudyin gadjin , meaning "[he] picked up water". When reasonable water levels flow, the Mill Rapid downstream of the Calder Hwy bridge provides technical whitewater kayaking of Grade 3 standard featuring a short fast run. Access is usually via local roads on
3264-427: The river is crossed by the Janevale bridge, a reinforced concrete girder bridge built in 1911 which is listed as a Heritage Place in the Victorian Heritage Register , and then northwards to Newbridge where it is crossed by the Wimmera Highway . At Bridgewater the river is crossed by the Calder Highway and the Eaglehawk-Inglewood railway line . A further road crossing is encountered at Bridgewater-Serpentine Road, to
3332-419: The river. The pool upstream of the Bridgewater weir is used for watersports such as waterskiing. Both reservoirs are also used for motor boats and sailing . At the Loddon Weir there is road access which enables boats to be launched from the bank. Murray-Darling basin The Murray–Darling Basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, encompassing the drainage basin of
3400-411: The road as Calder Alternative Highway (Arterial #6200) between Ravenswood and Marong , and in 2011 as Calder Highway (Arterial #6530) between the border with New South Wales at Yelta and the interchange with Calder Alternate Highway and Ravenswood Street in Ravenswood , and as Calder Freeway (Freeway #1530) between Ravenswood and Tullamarine Freeway , Airport West . The Calder Highway between
3468-418: The settlers. Although some tribes organised resistance, such as the Maraura , whose territory lay around the Rufus River above Renmark and the Tanganekald near The Coorong , they were eventually either killed, exiled, or succumbed to disease. The Murray–Darling Basin is home to many native animal species. The true numbers may not be known, but a fairly confident estimate has been made of these animals and
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#17327764822313536-401: The south of Serpentine. Road crossings between Serpentine and Loddon weirs include Lagoona Road, Borung-Hurstwood Road, Ellerslie Road, Majors Line Road, Boort-Pyramid Road, Boort-Yando Road, Canary Island-Leaghur Road, Appin South Road, Hewitt Road and Wood Lane. In Kerang the river is crossed by the Old Kerang Road, Murray Valley Highway and the Yungera railway line . After Kerang the river
3604-677: The state's major roads from local municipalities. (Melbourne-) Bendigo Road was declared a Main Road over a period of months, from 30 December 1913 ( Castlemaine via Harcourt to Ravenswood ), to 30 November 1914 (from Keilor through Diggers Rest to Gisborne , and from Woodend through Kyneton and Elphinstone to Castlemaine ), to 20 September 1915 (from Ravenswood to Bendigo); (Ouyen-) Sea Lake Road from Ouyen to Mittyack , (Ouyen-) Mildura Road from Ouyen to Hattah , and Wycheproof-Sea Lake Road from Wycheproof to Sea Lake were declared Main Roads on 14 December 1914; and (Charlton-)Wycheproof Road between Charlton and Wycheproof
3672-454: The system. Cane toads compete with native amphibians and are toxic to native carnivores. Phyla canescens has invaded wetlands and floodplains with heavy clay soils in the Murray–Darling Basin, to the detriment of the native vegetation; the plant does best in habitats that are inundated occasionally, although it cannot compete with the grass Paspalum distichum and the sedge Eleocharis plana in more heavily inundated sites. This area
3740-426: The towns along the highway's former alignment. Calder Freeway passes Harcourt - where the shared concurrency with Midland Highway ends, as it travels in a south-westerly direction to the major regional centres of Castlemaine , Ballarat , and Geelong - and continues in a south-easterly direction past Elphinstone , Kyneton , Woodend and Gisborne , to reach the western suburban fringe of Melbourne. It continues in
3808-423: The water removed, including for the growing of rice and cotton . This extraction is highly controversial among scientists in Australia, regarding the agriculture industry's high water use in a region extremely short of water (as much due to exceptionally low run-off coefficients as to low rainfall). These extensive irrigation systems require a reliable supply of water, not the unpredictable flows that characterise
3876-432: The weir, water is diverted to the Waranga Western Channel . Downstream from Loddon Weir the river averages 7 to 14 metres (23 to 46 ft) wide, and up to 26 metres (85 ft) wide at certain points, with a bank height of around 3 metres (9.8 ft). Approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of Kerang water flows are increased due to water entering from the Macorna Channel, and the higher flows are maintained for
3944-412: The west bank. Upstream of the Calder Hwy bridge kayakers and canoeists will have a pleasant paddling experience but may have to share the river with swimmers, fishers, and waterskiers. At Bridgewater there is a designated 3.2-kilometre (2.0 mi) general waterskiing area, a 950-metre (3,120 ft) slalom and ski jump area. Waterskiing events held in this area include the Australian Masters in January,
4012-401: Was declared a Main Road on 28 May 1915; and Charlton-(Bridgewater-)Bendigo Road was declared a Main Road, between Bridgewater and Wedderburn to Charlton on 28 May 1915, and between Bendigo and Bridgewater on 20 September 1915. The passing of the Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924 provided for the declaration of State Highways, roads two-thirds financed by the State government through
4080-495: Was described as being primarily intended to ensure public safety. Four varieties of carp were used to stock up fish dams. Since then they have made their way into the river systems, where they spread quite quickly. Human introduction, possibly by anglers using small carp illegally as live bait, has also increased their distribution. These fish are very mobile, breed rapidly and can survive in very shallow water and through long periods of very low dissolved oxygen content. Carp are
4148-444: Was designed to set environmentally sustainable limits on the quantities of water that may be taken from Basin water resources , to set Basin-wide environmental, water quality and salinity objectives, to develop efficient water trading regimes across the Basin, to set requirements for state water resource plans and to improve water security for all Basin users. It also intends to minimise social and economic impacts whilst achieving
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#17327764822314216-485: Was formed in 2008 to manage the Murray–Darling Basin in an integrated and sustainable manner. The MDBA is responsible for preparing and overseeing a legally-enforceable management plan. In October 2010, MDBA released a draft Murray–Darling Basin Plan (MDBP) for consultation. On 22nd November 2012, Tony Burke signed the Murray–Darling Basin Plan, which passed the Australian Parliament's disallowance period on 19 March 2013. The MDBA's draft Murray–Darling Basin Plan, titled
4284-413: Was later signed National Route 79 in 1955 ; when Midland Highway was allocated State Route 149 in 1986, it shared it as a concurrency along Calder Highway between Harcourt and Bendigo. With Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s this was altered to route A79 for the highway portion, and route M79 for the freeway portion into Melbourne (and the concurrency with Midland Highway
4352-440: Was not until the 1990s that work began to duplicate the rest of the highway to Bendigo. The Howard government broadened the criteria under which roads qualify for Commonwealth road funding by introducing Roads of National Importance program in the 1996–97 financial year where such declarations were based on the recognition that roads outside the National Highway system also provide social benefits, and were funded jointly with
4420-411: Was opened in 1972, over time stretching west to ultimately become a project to convert the road to freeway standard all the way to Bendigo; the freeway upgrade has made sections of the original Calder Highway redundant, either incorporated into the new freeway or acting as local access roads. Calder Alternative Highway was declared in 9 May 1983, along the former Ravenswood–Marong Road. Calder Highway
4488-489: Was reduced permanently from 100 km/h to 80 km/h. The 80 km/h limit applies northbound from Keilor Park Drive to Melton Highway, and southbound it applies from the Green Gully Road bridge to just prior to the Western Ring Road interchange. In October 2010, it was announced that as part of a year long trial, the speed limit on this section of freeway will be increased back to 100 km/h in off-peak times (8pm-5am), with 30 variable speed limits to be installed along
4556-613: Was renamed Calder Highway in 1928, after William Calder , chairman of the Country Roads Board from 1913–28. In the 1959/60 financial year, another section from Elphinstone to Harcourt was added as a deviation bypassing Castlemaine , along the former Elphinstone–Harcourt Road (already having been declared a Main Road by the Country Roads Board in 1937/38 financial year ); the previous alignments of Calder Highway from Elphinstone to Castlemaine, and Castlemaine to Harcourt, were subsumed into Pyrenees Highway and Midland Highway respectively. The first section of Calder Freeway in Melbourne
4624-573: Was replaced with route A300); the New South Wales section was left unallocated when they switched to the alphanumeric system in 2013. Calder Alternative Highway was signed Alternative National Route 79 between Ravenswood and Marong, and was later replaced by route A790. Originally, Calder Highway ran through northwestern Melbourne as an undivided highway, ultimately through Niddrie as Keilor Road and terminating in Essendon ; traffic continued south along Mount Alexander Road to reach central Melbourne. Keilor Road – already heavily congested and supporting
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