Great Alpine Road
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]
Great Alpine Road | |
|---|---|
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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 |
|
| Major junctions | |
| NW end | |
| for full list see major intersections | |
| SE end | |
| Location(s) | |
| Major settlements | Myrtleford, Ovens, Bright, Harrietville, Mount Hotham, Dinner Plain, Omeo, Swifts Creek, Ensay, Bruthen |
| Highway system | |
History
In 1923 the Victorian Country Roads Board (CRB) took responsibility for the Alpine Road between Harrietville and Omeo, and appointed William Benjamin (Bill) Spargo (1888-1959) as supervisor.[6] He lived in a stone cottage at Hotham Heights, which the CRB expanded, at his request, to accommodate up to twenty visiting skiers. From 1925 the premises operated as a guest-house, Hotham Cottage (Hotham Heights Chalet). This was the forerunner of the Hotham Alpine Resort.
Route details
The Great Alpine Road[7] 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.[8] 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,[9] 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 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wangaratta | Wangaratta | 1 | 0.62 |  Parfitt Road – Wangaratta, Yarrawonga, Wodonga | |
| East Wangaratta | 5 | 3.1 |  Hume Highway – Wodonga, Sydney | ||
| 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 | ||
| 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 | |||||
See also
- Highways in Australia
- Highways in Victoria
References
- "Map NE Victoria" (PDF). Vic Roads. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2008. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
- "Google Maps". 2009 Google – Map data 2009 MapData Sciences Pty Ltd, PSMA. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
- State Route 156 – Ovens Highway, Main Roads Victoria. Retrieved on 23 September 2013.
- Mount Hotham, Wheel Chains
- Travel Victoria, Great Alpine Road
- Garden, Donald S (2002). "Spargo, William Benjamin (Bill) (1888–1959)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- "Great Alpine Road". Tourism Victoria. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
- "Mt Hotham Section". 2009 Google – Map data 2009 MapData Sciences Pty Ltd, PSMA. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
- 8423 Omeo, Victoria, Topographic Map. National Topographic Map Series (1 ed.). Commonwealth of Australia. 1982.
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 February 2009.
"Great Alpine Road - Visit Victoria (official tourism website)". Retrieved 20 June 2015.
"Sydney – Melbourne Touring". Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
"Victoria's Alpine High Country". Retrieved 10 February 2009.
"NRMA Motoring Services". Retrieved 10 February 2009.
"Discover East Gippsland". Archived from the original on 25 April 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
