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
Infobox instructions guidelines examples talk

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, however vehicles travelling between Harrietville and Omeo are required to carry diamond pattern^[4] snow chains during the declared snow season.^[5]

Route details

The Great Alpine Road^[6] 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.^[7] 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,^[8] along with the section of the Omeo 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

LGA	Location	km	mi	Destinations
Wangaratta	Wangaratta	1	0.62	Parfitt Road – Wangaratta, Yarrawonga, Wodonga
	East Wangaratta	5	3.1	Hume Highway – Wodonga, Sydney
	East Wangaratta	6	3.7	Hume Highway – Seymour, Melbourne
	Tarrawingee	12	7.5	Beechworth-Wangaratta Road (C315) – Beechworth, Yackandandah
	Bowmans Forest	35	22	Buckland Gap Road (C524) – Beechworth
Alpine	Gapsted	41	25	Snow Road – Milawa, Glenrowan
	Myrtleford	46	29	Myrtleford-Yackandandah Road (C527) – Yackandandah
	Myrtleford	47	29	Buffalo River Road (C526) – Lake Buffalo
	Ovens	51	32	Happy Valley Road (C534) – Mount Beauty
	Porepunkah	71	44	Mount Buffalo Road (C535) – Mount Buffalo
	Bright	77	48
	Germantown	83	52	Tawonga Gap Road (C536) – Mount Beauty
	Mount Hotham	132	82
	Dinner Plain	143	89
East Gippsland	Omeo	187	116	Omeo Highway (C543) – Benambra, Tallangatta
	Bruthen	282	175	Bruthen-Buchan Road (C620) – Buchan, Orbost
	Wiseleigh	286	178	Sarsfield-Tambo Upper Road (C605) – Swan Reach
	Lucknow	305	190	Princes Highway (A1) – Lakes Entrance, Orbost, Bairnsdale, Melbourne
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

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.
↑ Mount Hotham, Wheel Chains
↑ Travel Victoria, Great Alpine Road
↑ "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 23 February 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 11/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.