Calder Freeway

Calder Freeway Victoria

Calder Freeway facing Mount Macedon
General information
Type	Freeway
Length	113 km (70 mi)
Route number(s)	M79 (1998-present) Entire route Duplexes: A300 (Ravenswood South - Harcourt) State Route 40 (Keilor - Niddrie)
Former route number	National Route 79 (? - 1998) Gisborne Bypass; Diggers Rest - Niddrie^[1] Freeway Route 90 (1975-1989) Keilor - Niddrie^[2]
Major junctions
NW end	Calder Highway Ravenswood South, Victoria
	Midland Highway Pyrenees Highway Melton Highway Western Ring Road for full list see exits and interchanges
SE end	Tullamarine Freeway Niddrie, Melbourne
Location(s)
Major suburbs / towns	Harcourt, Malmsbury, Kyneton, Woodend, Macedon, Gisborne, Diggers Rest, Sunbury
Highway system
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in Victoria
Infobox instructions guidelines examples talk

Calder Freeway is a freeway linking Melbourne to the outskirts of Bendigo in Victoria, Australia, superseding sections of the Calder Highway. Originally just a short spur of the Tullamarine Freeway linking to the Calder Highway in Keilor in suburban Melbourne, it has been extended in phases to Ravenswood South subsuming all the older Calder Highway stretches. It continues beyond as Calder Highway through to Bendigo and to Mildura. The Victorian Government completed the duplication of the Calder Highway from Melbourne to Bendigo to Freeway conditions on 20 April 2009, several months earlier than expected.

History

The Calder Highway was named after William Calder, who was chairman of the Country Roads Board (Victoria) from 1913 to 1928. The CRB later became the Victorian Road Construction Authority and today known as VicRoads.

The highway was originally allocated a National Route 79 shield. With Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s this was altered to a A79 designation for the majority highway portion, and a M79 designation for the remaining freeway portion into Melbourne.

Originally, the Calder Highway (an undivided highway) started at the end of Keilor Road in Niddrie. In the early 1970s the road was upgraded to freeway standard together with the Tullamarine Freeway, ending in Keilor East and rejoining the Calder Highway. By the early 1980s the Freeway was extended to Keilor and then rejoined the Calder Highway. However, it was not until the 1990s that work began to duplicate the rest of the highway to Bendigo.

The Calder Highway between 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.

Timeline of construction

1972 - 1.2 miles with 3 lanes in each direction, opened from the Tullamarine Freeway/Lancefield Road to the Calder Highway at Niddrie. This section was opened 21 April 1972, by the Minister for Local Government, the Hon. A J Hunt, MLC, at a cost of $A3m.^[3]
1975 - Keilor East. 2 km from The Avenue to Erberus Street, opened December 1974 at a cost of A$2.5m.^[4]
1982 - 3.8 km from Erebus Street, Keilor Park (future location of the Western Ring Road interchange) to Arundel Road, Keilor, with two lanes each direction, plus emergency stopping lanes. Opened 18 May 1982 by Minister for Transport, the Hon S M Crabb MP at a cost of A$15.5m.^[5]
1984 – Keilor bypass. Bendigo-bound carriageway opened 17 April 1984, from Arundel Road to west of Oakbank Road. The opening of this carriageway completed the bypass of Keilor. The cost of the entire bypass from Erebus Street to west of Oakbank Road was A$30m.^[6]
1989 – Gisborne bypass opened 17 March 1989. The 6 km bypass cost A$25m.^[7]
1990/1991 – Oakbank Road, Keilor North to Duncans Lane, Diggers Rest. 7.7 km of newly duplicated ‘2 lane carriageway’ opened to traffic at a cost of A$14m. No exact date was given, however VicRoads Annual Reports cover the previous financial year.^[8]
1991/1992 – 2 km of duplication completed at Ravenswood during 1991/1992 at a cost of A$1.3m.^[9]
1993 - Diggers Rest bypass. $A32m 6.5 km bypass opened to traffic in July 1993, followed by the Vinyard Road interchange in November 1993.^[10]
1994 – Ravenswood section. Duplication of the highway completed ‘in 1994’^[10]
1995 - Kyneton bypass opened to traffic in April 1995, at a cost of A$31m.^[11]
1996 - Gap Hill section (Diggers Rest to Millett Road). Opened in May 1996, at a cost of A$32m.^[12]
1998 - Gisborne South to Gisborne. 6 km completed at a cost of A$31 and opened to traffic on 3 April 1998.^[13]
2000 - Gisborne to Woodend (Black Forest section). 6.8 km section opened to traffic on 17 March 2000. Completed at a cost of A$51m.^[14]
2001 - Woodend bypass. 13.5 km bypass opened to traffic on 19 December 2001. The total cost of the project was A$85m.^[15]
2003 - Carlsruhe section. 6.5 km section opened to traffic on 16 April 2003, 10 months ahead of schedule, at a cost of A$46m. This section completed the dual carriageways from Keilor to Kyneton.^[16]
2005 – 2.5 km north of Kyneton completed in January 2005.^[17]
2005 – Ravenswood. 6.5 km duplication south of Ravenswood completed in May 2005^[17]
2008 – 15 km Malmsbury section opened in April 2008.^[18]
2009 – Harcourt North to Elphinstone opened two months ahead of schedule on 20 April 2009. This 19 km section cost A$404m and completed the duplication of the highway between Melbourne and Bendigo. The project was jointly funded by the state and federal governments.^[19]

Route

At Ravenswood South, the Calder Highway, becomes the Calder Freeway, adopting freeway standards, with two lanes running either way (three inside Melbourne) and begins bypassing most of the towns the old alignment of the highway used to serve.

The north-western end of the freeway is also duplexed with the A300 until south of Harcourt where the highway resumes south-westerly to the major regional centres of Castlemaine, Ballarat, and Geelong.

Towns bypassed by, but still accessible from, the Calder Freeway include: Harcourt, Elphinstone, Taradale, Malmsbury, Kyneton, Woodend, Macedon, Gisborne, and Diggers Rest.

It gains the State Route 40 shield at the Green Gully Road interchange in Keilor, which continues east onto the Tullamarine Freeway city-bound.

The freeway ends at the newly reconstructed interchange with the Tullamarine Freeway, the main route from the central business district to Melbourne Airport. Continuing on the Tullamarine Freeway eventually brings drivers onto CityLink, and thus, central Melbourne.

Within the urban section of the Calder Freeway (between Kings Road and the 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 the Western Ring Road and the Tullamarine Freeway.

The usual peak period travel time, is between 9–13 minutes. However, when there is extreme congestion or roadworks, including being residual from an incident, the travel time can go beyond 13 minutes, sometimes upwards of 20 minutes plus.

Upgrades

Calder Highway / Calder Alternative Route intersection

Proposed upgrade of the intersection of the Calder Highway and Calder Alternate Route at Ravenswood, to be funded by Auslink 2 (2009–2014). To begin construction in February 2016 with completion at the end of 2017. .

Western Ring Road to Kings Road

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. As a result, the speed limit is reduced permanently from 100 km/h to 80 km/h. .^[20] Confusingly the 80 km/hr limit applies northbound from Keilor Park Drive until the Service Centre at Calder Park, whereas 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 the stretch of freeway. As of 2011, the section combined with State Route 40 (or essentially Keilor Park Dve to Kings Road) is permanently signed at 80 km/h - with slight differences (as noted) inbound and outbound. A further upgrade completed in 2012 resulted in a new interchange at Kings Road (the freeways's urban / metropolitan limits) and closure of three at grade intersections in the area. Despite the upgrade the 80 km/h speed limit remains today.

Proposed safety and capacity improvements, to funded by Auslink 2 (2009–2014) .

Exits and interchanges

LGA	Location	km^[21]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Mount Alexander	Ravenswood South–Harcourt North boundary	0	0.0	Calder Highway (A79 / A300) north / Old Calder Highway (C794) east / Fogartys Gap Road west – Bendigo, Harcourt	Northern freeway terminus: continues as Calder Highway; at-grade intersection
	Barkers Creek–Harcourt boundary	5.8	3.6	Midland Highway (A300 south-west) – Harcourt, Castlemaine, Ballarat	A300 southern concurrency terminus
	Elphinstone	18.3	11.4	Pyrenees Highway (B180) – Castlemaine, Metcalfe
Macedon Ranges	Malmsbury	32.8	20.4	Old Calder Highway (C794) west / Malmsbury East Road east – Malmsbury, Taradale, Elphinstone, Edgecombe
	Kyneton	36.1	22.4	Burton Avenue (C793) – Kyneton	At-grade intersection
		41.2	25.6	Edgecombe Road (C326 north) – Kyneton, Heathcote
		43.6	27.1	Bourke Street (C793) west / Trio Road east –Kyneton	Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
	Carlsruhe	18.4	11.4	Springvale Road – Carlsruhe
	Woodend North	51.6	32.1	Macedon–Woodend Road (C792) – Woodend	Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
	Woodend	56.8	35.3	Lancefield–Woodend Road (C324) – Lancefield, Woodend
	Macedon	64.2	39.9	Macedon–Woodend Road (C792) – Macedon, Woodend
	Macedon	70.5	43.8	Mount Macedon Road (C322) north-east / Macedon–Woodend Road (C792) north-west – Mount Macedon, Macedon	Northbound exit and southbound entrance only
	Gisborne–New Gisborne boundary	72.6	45.1	Station Road (C708 north / C791 south) – Riddells Creek, Gisborne, Bacchus Marsh, Melton
	Gisborne	75.5	46.9	Melbourne Road (C791) west / Emmeline Drive east – Gisborne
Macedon Ranges–Hume boundary	Gisborne South–Sunbury boundary	81.5	50.6	Couangalt Road west / Mundy Road east – Gisborne South, Sunbury
Hume–Melton boundary	Sunbury–Diggers Rest boundary	86.5	53.7	Gap Road (C707) – Sunbury
	Sunbury–Diggers Rest boundary	91.5	56.9	Vineyard Road (C706) – Sunbury, Diggers Rest
	Diggers Rest	94.7	58.8	Bulla–Diggers Rest Road – Bulla, Diggers Rest
Brimbank	Calder Park–Keilor North boundary	97.8– 99.1	60.8– 61.6	Holden Road west – Toolern Vale	Northbound exit and entrance; northbound and southbound access to service centres
		99.8	62.0	Organ Pipes Road – Organ Pipes National Park	At-grade intersection
		101	63	Calder Park Drive – Calder Park	Northbound exit and entrance only
	Keilor North–Taylors Lakes boundary	102	63	Kings Road – Taylors Lakes, Deer Park, Laverton
	Keilor North–Keilor Lodge boundary	104	65	Sunshine Avenue (State Route 41) – Taylors Lakes	Northbound exit and entrance only
	Keilor	105	65	Melton Highway (C754) – Taylors Lakes, Melton	Partial Y interchange: northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Keilor	107	66	Green Gully Road (State Route 40) south / Arundel Road north – Keilor, St Albans	North-westbound exit and south-eastbound entrance only; State Route 40 north-western concurrency terminus
	Keilor Park–Keilor East boundary	110	68	Keilor Park Drive (State Route 40) to Western Ring Road (M80) – Keilor Park, Avondale Heights, Avalon Airport	No north-westbound exit
	Keilor Park–Keilor East boundary	111	69	Western Ring Road – north-east to Seymour, Sydney, Melbourne Airport; south-west to Geelong, Ballarat, Adelaide, Avalon Airport	Incomplete access: no exit north-westbound to north-eastbound or south-eastbound to south-westbound, no entrance south-westbound to south-eastbound or north-westbound to north-eastbound; access from north-westbound exit to Keilor Park Drive
Moonee Valley	Keilor East–Airport West boundary	112	70	Woorite Place – Keilor East, Airport West	North-westbound exit and south-eastbound entrance only
	Airport West–Niddrie boundary	113	70	Fullarton Road / McNamara Avenue – Niddrie	South-eastbound entrance and exit only
		113.3	70.4	Keilor Road / Newman Street – Niddrie	North-westbound entrance and exit only
		113.7	70.6	Bulla Road (State Route 37) – Essendon	North-westbound exit and south-eastbound entrance
	Airport West–Niddrie–Essendon Fields–Essendon North quadripoint	114	71	Tullamarine Freeway (M2 north & east / State Route 43 east) – Melbourne	Partial Y interchange: no access eastbound to northbound or southbound to westbound
Concurrency terminus Incomplete access

References

↑ National Routes, Main Roads Victoria. Retrieved on 26 August 2013.
↑ Freeway Route Numbering System, Main Roads Victoria. Retrieved on 26 August 2013.
↑ Country Roads Board Victoria. Fifty-Ninth Report: for the year ended 30th June, 1972, Burwood, Victoria: Brown, Prior, Anderson, 1972. p. 5
↑ Country Roads Board Victoria. Sixty-Second Annual Report: for the year ended 30th June, 1975, Burwood, Victoria: Brown, Prior, Anderson, 1975. p. 5.
↑ Country Roads Board Victoria. 69th Annual Report. 1981-1982, Kew, Victoria: Country Roads Board Victoria, 1982. p. 11
↑ Road Construction Authority Victoria. 1st Annual Report 1983-84, Kew, Victoria: Road Construction Authority, Victoria, 1984. p. 10
↑ Road Construction Authority Victoria. Annual Report 1988-1989, Kew, Victoria: Road Construction Authority, Victoria, 1989. p. 46
↑ VicRoads. VicRoads Annual Report, 1990-1991, Kew, Victoria: VicRoads, 1991, p. 37
↑ VicRoads. VicRoads Annual Report, 1991-1992, Kew, Victoria: VicRoads, 1992, p. 42
1 2 Vicroads. Vicroads Annual Report 1993-94, Kew, Victoria: Vicroads, 1994, p. 16
↑ Vicroads. Vicroads Annual Report 1994-95, Kew, Victoria: Vicroads, 1995, p. 9
↑ Vicroads. Vicroads Annual Report 1995-96, Kew, Victoria: Vicroads, 1996, p. 15
↑ Vicroads. Vicroads Annual Report 1997-98, Kew, Victoria: Vicroads, 1998, p. 33
↑ Vicroads. Vicroads Annual Report 2000-01, Kew, Victoria: Vicroads, 2000, p. 27
↑ Vicroads. Vicroads Annual Report 2001-02, Kew, Victoria: Vicroads, 2002, p. 33
↑ Vicroads. Vicroads Annual Report 2002-03, Kew, Victoria: Vicroads, 2003, p. 13
1 2 Vicroads. Vicroads Annual Report 2004-05, Kew, Victoria: Vicroads, 2005, p. 33
↑ VicRoads. VicRoads Annual Report 2007-08, Kew, Victoria: VicRoads, 2008, p. 35
↑ VicRoads. VicRoads Annual Report 2008-09, Kew, Victoria: VicRoads, 2009, p. 41
↑ Gardiner, Ashley (12 June 2008). "Freeway slowdown to ease traffic jams in Melbourne". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
↑ Google (20 January 2015). "Calder Freeway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 20 January 2015.

Road infrastructure in Melbourne

Tollways	CityLink (Transurban) EastLink (ConnectEast)

Freeways	Airport Drive Calder Freeway Eastern Freeway Frankston Freeway Hume Freeway Metropolitan Ring Road Monash Freeway Mornington Peninsula Freeway Peninsula Link Princes Freeway South Gippsland Freeway Tullamarine Freeway West Gate Freeway Western Freeway Western Ring Road

Highways	Ballarat Road Bell Street Bulleen Road Burwood Highway Chandler Highway Dandenong Road Dandenong Valley Highway Eastern Highway Flemington Road Geelong Road Greensborough Highway Hoddle Highway Maroondah Highway Melton Highway Moorooduc Highway Mountain Highway Nepean Highway Plenty Valley Highway Springvale Road St Kilda Road Sydney Road Warrigal Road Westall Road Western Port Highway Whitehorse Road

Bypasses	Dandenong Bypass Ringwood Bypass Westall Road (Springvale Bypass)

Bridges and tunnels	Bolte Bridge Burnley Tunnel Domain Tunnel Melba Tunnel Mullum Mullum Tunnel West Gate Bridge

Proposals	1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan East West Link Western Distributor West Gate Distributor Outer Ring Road Dingley Arterial Healesville Freeway Mornington Peninsula Freeway North East Link

Streets in Melbourne Highways in Melbourne VicRoads Transport in Melbourne

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

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