Western Port Highway

Western Port Highway (formerly Dandenong–Hastings Road[2]) is a highway in Victoria, Australia, linking the south-eastern fringe of suburban Melbourne to the western coast of Western Port, after which the highway is named, at the Port of Hastings nearly 30 km to the south. It runs from the end of South Gippsland Freeway at Lynbrook, firstly as a dual carriageway and later as an undivided road, to Frankston-Flinders Road at Hastings.

Western Port Highway

Western Port Highway is located in Melbourne
North end
North end
South end
South end
Coordinates
General information
TypeHighway
Length27.8 km (17 mi)[1]
Route number(s)
  • M780 (2000–present)
    (Lynbrook–Langwarrin)
  • A780 (1997–present)
    (Langwarrin–Hastings)
Former
route number
  • A780 (1997–2000)
    (Lynbrook–Langwarrin)
  • Metro Route 65 (1989–1997)
    Entire route
Major junctions
North end South Gippsland Freeway
Lynbrook, Melbourne
 
South end Frankston-Flinders Road
Hastings, Victoria
Location(s)
Major settlementsDandenong South, Lyndhurst, Skye, Cranbourne West, Langwarrin, Pearcedale, Somerville, Tyabb
Highway system

Route

The highway begins at Lyndhurst interchange, where South Gippsland Highway and the alignment of South Gippsland Freeway meet, outside Lynbrook; Western Port Highway is linked directly to the southern end of South Gippsland Freeway by an overpass over South Gippsland Highway. From the interchange, Western Port Highway runs south as a two-lane (each way), dual carriageway, over the Cranbourne railway line, passing through a set of traffic lights at Portlink Drive and Moreton Bay Boulevard, passing through a roundabout at Glasscocks Road, and traffic lights at Thompsons Road. The highway runs onwards further south through a roundabout intersection with Hall Road and traffic light intersections with Ballarto Road and Cranbourne-Frankston Road. The road continues south to North Road as a dual carriageway, before reverting to a dual-lane single carriageway road to Hastings. It continues further south with a roundabout at Baxter-Tooradin Road and finally ending at an intersection with Frankston-Flinders Road, 2 km north of Hastings.

For most of the route the speed limit is 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph), with shorter sections of 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph) and 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph).

History

Western Port Highway was originally a single carriageway road called Lyndhurst Road in the 1960s, it has been progressively upgraded to a divided highway between South Gippsland Freeway and Cranbourne-Frankston Road during the 1990s, as dramatically increasing freight traffic volumes to and from Hastings necessitated major upgrades, including eliminating the level crossing with the Cranbourne railway line with an overpass in 2001.[3]

The Country Roads Board (later VicRoads) declared Dandenong-Hastings Road a Main Road in June 1983,[4] from South Gippsland Freeway at Lynbrook to Frankston-Flinders Road in Hastings; this declaration included a section of Tyabb-Tooradin Road between Hastings and Somerville, subsequently subsumed into Dandenong-Hastings Road.

The passing of the Transport Act of 1983[5] (itself an evolution from the original Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924[6]) provided for the declaration of State Highways, roads two-thirds financed by the State government through VicRoads. Western Port Highway was declared a State Highway in March 1994,[7] from South Gippsland Freeway at Lynbrook to Frankston-Flinders Road at Hastings.

The passing of the Road Management Act 2004[8] granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to VicRoads: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared the road as Western Port Highway (Arterial #6230), beginning at South Gippsland Freeway at Lynbrook and ending at Frankston-Flinders Road in Hastings.[2]

Dandenong-Hastings Road was signed Metropolitan Route 65 in 1989. With Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s this was replaced by route A780. After further upgrades, this was converted to route M780 between Lynbrook and Cranbourne South in 2000,[9] with a further extension south between Cranbourne South and Langwarrin after further duplication in 2009.[10]

VicRoads had planned to convert the highway to a six- to eight-lane freeway standard between South Gippsland Freeway and about 1.2 km south of Cranbourne-Frankston Road with full grade-separated interchanges at Glasscocks, Thompsons, Hall and Cranbourne-Frankston Roads, and a half-diamond interchange (north-facing ramps only) at Ballarto Road, with a report released in August 2014,[11] however the State Government abandoned any plans for the upgrade, which was estimated to cost $1 billion, in mid-2016.[12]

Upgrades

  • 2001 – Duplication of 4.4 km between South Gippsland Freeway in Lynbrook and Thompsons Road in Lyndhurst, including overpass of Cranbourne railway line, completed January 2001, at a cost of $30.5 million.[3]
  • 2009 – Duplication of 3.9 km between Cranbourne-Frankston Road in Cranbourne South and North Road in Langwarrin.[10]

Major intersections

LGALocation[1][2]km[1]miDestinationsNotes
Greater DandenongCasey boundaryDandenong SouthLyndhurstLynbrook tripoint0.00.0 South Gippsland Freeway (M420 north)  Dandenong, Chadstone, CityNorthern terminus of highway and route M780; continues north as South Gippsland Freeway
South Gippsland Highway (M420 southeast, unallocated northwest)  Dandenong, CranbournePartial cloverleaf interchange
Lyndhurst–Lynbrook boundary0.80.50Northey Road  LynbrookSouthbound entrance and exit only
0.90.56Monash Drive  Dandenong SouthNorthbound entrance and exit only
Lyndhurst2.11.3Portlink Drive  Dandenong SouthTraffic light intersection
2.21.4Moreton Bay Boulevard  LyndhurstTraffic light intersection
3.01.9Glasscocks Road  Bangholme, LyndhurstRoundabout
Greater DandenongCaseyFrankston tripointLyndhurst–SkyeCranbourne West tripoint4.72.9 Thompsons Road (Metro Route 6)  Carrum, CranbourneTraffic light intersection
CaseyFrankston boundarySkyeCranbourne West boundary8.05.0Hall Road  Carrum Downs, CranbourneRoundabout
Traffic light intersection under construction as part of Hall Road Upgrade
SkyeCranbourne WestCranbourne South tripoint9.66.0Ballarto Road  Skye, SeafordTraffic light intersection
SkyeLangwarrin boundary11.06.8 Cranbourne–Frankston Road (Metro Route 4)  Cranbourne, FrankstonTraffic light intersection
12.17.5Browns Road  Cranbourne South, Junction VillageRoundabout
SkyeLangwarrinPearcedale tripoint15.09.3North Road  Langwarrin, Devon MeadowsRoundabout
Southern terminus of route M780, northern terminus of route A780
LangwarrinLangwarrin SouthPearcedale tripoint16.810.4Robinsons Road  Frankston South, PearcedaleRoundabout
CaseyFrankstonMornington Peninsula tripointLangwarrin SouthPearcedale boundary18.511.5 Baxter–Tooradin Road (C781)  Baxter, Pearcedale, TooradinRoundabout
Mornington PeninsulaSomerville21.213.2Eramosa Road East  Somerville
22.914.2Bungower Road  MorningtonRoundabout
SomervilleTyabb boundary24.515.2Tyabb–Tooradin Road (northeast)  Tyabb
O'Neills Road (west)  Tooradin
Tyabb27.517.1 Frankston–Flinders Road (C777 north, south)  Hastings, Flinders, Frankston
Denham Road (east)  Hastings
Southern terminus of highway and route A780 at roundabout
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. Google (28 December 2021). "Western Port Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  2. VicRoads. "VicRoads – Register of Public Roads (Part A) 2015" (PDF). Government of Victoria. pp. 962–3. Archived from the original on 1 May 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  3. "VicRoads Annual Report 2000-01". VicRoads. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 26 September 2001. p. 34.
  4. "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 30 June 1983. p. 1989. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  5. State of Victoria, An Act to Re-enact with Amendments the Law relating to Transport including the Law with respect to Railways, Roads and Tramways... 23 June 1983
  6. State of Victoria, An Act to make further provision with respect to Highways and Country Roads Motor Cars and Traction Engines and for other purposes 30 December 1924
  7. "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 24 March 1994. p. 749. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  8. State Government of Victoria. "Road Management Act 2004" (PDF). Government of Victoria. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  9. "VicRoads Annual Report 1999-2000". VicRoads. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 19 October 2000. p. 23.
  10. "VicRoads 2008-09 Annual Report". Corporate Policy and Planning VicRoads. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 19 August 2009. p. 44.
  11. "Western Port Highway (North) Upgrade Project: Lynbrook to Langwarrin" (PDF). VicRoads. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  12. "Western Port Highway upgrade to freeway off agenda as State Government declares no interest". Herald-Sun. Melbourne. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
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