Victoria Road, Sydney
Victoria Road is a major road in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, connecting Parramatta with the western end of Anzac Bridge and is currently one of the longest roads in Sydney. The road passes over two major bridges: the Iron Cove Bridge over Iron Cove, and the Gladesville Bridge over the Parramatta River.
Victoria Road | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Victoria Road at West Ryde | |
  West end East end | |
| Coordinates |
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| General information | |
| Type | Road |
| Length | 22.8 km (14 mi)[1] |
| Route number(s) |  A40 (2013–present)(North Parramatta–Rozelle) |
| Former route number |
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| Major junctions | |
| West end | O'Connell Street Parramatta, Sydney |
| |
| East end |  Western Distributor City West LinkRozelle, Sydney |
| Location(s) | |
| LGA(s) | |
| Major suburbs | Rydalmere, Ermington, West Ryde, Ryde, Gladesville, Drummoyne, Rozelle |
Route
Victoria Road begins at the intersection with O'Connell Street in Paramatta and heads east, passing through the Sydney suburbs of Rydalmere, Ermington, West Ryde, Ryde, Gladesville, Drummoyne and Rozelle. It is predominantly three lanes in each direction between Rozelle and Gladesville, and two or three lanes in each direction west of Gladesville. A large number of Busways and Transit Systems bus routes travel along Victoria Road, and during peak hours much of the road includes a dedicated bus lane.
In July 1955, a new four (later five) lane Iron Cove Bridge opened, followed in October 1964 by a new six (later seven) lane Gladesville Bridge, both replacing 1880s built two-lane structures.
In 2011, the Inner West Busway project introduced a tidal flow arrangement between Drummoyne and Rozelle which provides four city bound lanes (including a dedicated bus lane) and two west bound lanes in the morning peak, before reverting to three lanes in each direction at 10am.[2] A barrier transfer machine is used to move the concrete barrier.[3] This also saw a new three-lane Iron Cove Bridge built for out-bound traffic with the existing structure being solely used by inbound traffic.[4]
In 2011 the road was named as one of the most congested road in Sydney with an average travel speed of 24 kilometres per hour (15 mph) during the morning peak period and 31 kilometres per hour (19 mph) in the afternoon peak.[5]
History
The passing of the Main Roads Act of 1924[6] through the Parliament of New South Wales provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (later the Department of Main Roads, and eventually Transport for NSW). Main Road No. 165 was declared along this road on 8 August 1928, from Pyrmont over the Glebe Island Bridge, via Rozelle, Gladesville, along Kissing Point Road via Dundas, and along Pennant Street back along Victoria Road to Parramatta;[7] the alignment along Kissing Point Road via Dundas was realigned to run via West Ryde at a later date, and the eastern end was truncated to end in Rozelle once the Anzac Bridge opened as part of City West Link in December 1995.
Gallery
Citybound view from the Gladesville Bridge at Drummoyne in the early 1990s
See also
References
- Google (17 August 2022). "Victoria Road" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
- "Inner West Busway". Roads & Maritime Services. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013.
- "Unzip extra lanes on Victoria Rd". Daily Telegraph. 18 December 2010.
- "Inner-west's bridge of sighs". Sydney Morning Herald. 29 January 2011.
- "Doing 24km/hr? You must be on Victoria Rd". The Daily Telegraph. 30 November 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
- State of New South Wales, An Act to provide for the better construction, maintenance, and financing of main roads; to provide for developmental roads; to constitute a Main Roads Board Archived 11 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 10 November 1924
- "Main Roads Act, 1924-1927". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 110. National Library of Australia. 17 August 1928. pp. 3814–20. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
