Road Photos & Information: New South Wales: Moss Vale Road, Nowra Road, Illawarra Highway, Argyle Street, Funston Street, Station Street, Mittagong Road, Bowral Road and Old Hume Highway (State Route 79) - Fitzroy Falls to Aylmerton (Decommissioned)

Road Photos & Information: New South Wales

Moss Vale Road, Nowra Road, Illawarra Highway, Argyle Street, Funston Street, Station Street, Mittagong Road, Bowral Road and Old Hume Highway (State Route 79) - Fitzroy Falls to Aylmerton (Decommissioned)

Statistics:

Length: 73 km (Bomaderry to Fitzroy Falls: 39 km)
Northern Terminus: Hume Highway (NH31) at Aylmerton
Southern Terminus: Princes Highway (NR1) and Cambewarra Road at Bomaderry
Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along The Route: Fitzroy Falls, Moss Vale, Burradoo, Bowral, Mittagong, Braemar and Aylmerton

Route Numbering:

Former:
Multiplexes:
Decommissioned: 2013
Road Authority Internal Classification: MR261 (Moss Vale Road and Nowra Road to the Sheepwash Road junction at Fitzroy Falls), HW25 (Illawarra Hwy from the unclassified section of Nowra Rd to Moss Vale) and MR260 (Moss Vale to Aylmerton) 1

General Information:

State Route 79 was an important connector route linking the NSW Southern Highlands with the Shoalhaven Coast.

The route is a single carriageway with 1 lane in each direction for most of it's length, with the exception of the Old Hume Highway segment. Sections of the route are steep and windy as the route traverses the steep coastal escarpment. The route features several mountain passes including Cambewarra Mountain and Barrengarry Mountain.

Another feature of the route is Hampden Bridge at Kangaroo Valley, which is a suspension bridge built between 1895 and 1898. The bridge is the second major suspension bridge in NSW, and now the only surviving timber decked vehicular suspension bridge constructed in the nineteenth century. The bridge has the Kangaroo River running beneath it. The main span length is 77 metres, sandstone tower height of 16.8 metres and height above water also of 16.8 metres. The main cables of the bridge consist on each side of fourteen 36mm diameter wire ropes, each with a specified tensile strength of 79.6 tonnes. The bridge is signposted for a maximum truck load of 42.5 tonnes, with no more than one truck to be on the bridge at a time, and is lanemarked to only provide a single lane. Hampden Bridge was built to replace the timber truss bridge of 1875 to 1879, which was in a state of decay by 1893. 2

Multiplexes along the route include:

Tourist Drive 14 for 19 km from Illawarra Hwy (NR48) and Suttor Rd at Moss Vale to Hume Hwy (NH31) at Aylmerton
Tourist Drive 15 for 19 km, from Myra Vale Rd (TD8) at Fitzroy Falls to Illawarra Hwy (NR48) and Suttor Rd at Moss Vale

History:

1959: An experiment using advisory speed signs on curves on what is now the Old Hume Highway (and Remembrance Drive) between Camden and Berrima was successful and was extended to other roads
1992: Mittagong Bypass opens to traffic and the old route becomes Old Hume Highway

Fitzroy Falls to Aylmerton		Aylmerton to Fitzroy Falls
Preview:	Description:	Preview:	Description:
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign approaching Myra Vale Rd (TD8) at Myra Vale Rd, December 2006. The TD8 multiplex ends at this junction. Image © Paul Rands		Advance Directional Sign: AD sign on Old Hume Hwy (SR79 / TD14) approaching Old Hume Hwy (TD17) at Mittagong, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Distance Sign: Reassurance directional sign after the Myra Vale Rd (TD8) junction at Fitzroy Falls, December 2006. Note the missing TD15 shield. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign approaching the Fitzroy Falls lookout and visitor centre, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Intersection Directional Sign: ID sign at the entrance to the Fitzroy Falls lookout and visitor centre, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign on Nowra Rd (SR79 / TD15) approaching Sheepwash Rd at Fitzroy Falls, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Sheepwash Road: Corner of Nowra Rd and Sheepwash Rd, December 2006. Note the alphanumeric route number. Image © Paul Rands
	Black Distance Sign: Black RD sign at Fitzroy Falls after the Sheepwash Rd intersection, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Distance Sign: RD sign at Yarrunga after Bundanoon Creek, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Custom Warning Sign: Custom turning trucks warning sign, Yarrunga, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: Nowra Rd approaching Yarrawa Rd at Yarrunga, December 2006. SR79 / TD15 turns right at this junction. Image © Paul Rands
	Intersection Directional Sign: ID Sign at the Yarrawa Rd junction at Yarrunga, December 2006. SR79 / TD15 turns right at this junction. Image © Paul Rands
	Distance Sign: RD sign on Nowra Rd at Yarrunga, after Yarrawa Rd, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign approaching Illawarra Hwy (NR48) at Yarrunga, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Illawarra Highway: Corner of Nowra Rd and Illawarra Hwy (NR48) at Yarrunga, December 2006. The NR48 multiplex starts here. Image © Paul Rands
	Distance Sign: Reassurance directional sign on Illawarra Hwy (NR48 / SR79 / TD15) after the Nowra Rd intersection, December 2006. Note the missing TD15 shield. Image © Paul Rands
	Entering Moss Vale: Illawarra Hwy (NR48 / SR79 / TD15) as it enters the outskirts of Moss Vale near Young Rd, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: Advance directional sign approaching the roundabout with Suttor Rd, Illawarra Hwy (Argyle St) (NR48) and Argyle St (SR79 / TD14) at Moss Vale, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Illawarra Highway, Suttor Road & Argyle Street Roundabout: Intersection directional sign at the roundabout with Suttor Rd, Illawarra Hwy (Argyle St) (NR48) and Argyle St (SR79 / TD14) at Moss Vale, December 2006. TD15 ends here and the TD14 duplex begins at this junction. Image © Paul Rands
	Tourist Drive 14 Distance Sign: TD14 RD sign at Bong Bong Hill, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Wingecarribee River: Bong Bong Bridge over the Wingecarribee River, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Entering the Bowral Area: Moss Vale Rd as it enters the Bowral area at Burradoo, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Corner of Elizabeth Street & Moss Vale Road: Northbound travelling throung Burradoo, near Bowral, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Entering Chisholm Hill: Northbound at Burradoo / Chisholm Hill near Bowral, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Corner of Werrington Street & Moss Vale Road: Leaving Burradoo near Chevalier College, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Approaching Kangaloon Road: Corner of Kangaloon Road and Funston Street, northbound at Bowral, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Distance Sign: Northbound RD sign on Mittagong Road at Bowral near the intersection with Oxley Drive, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Crossing Main Southern Railway: Bridge over the railway line at Mittagong, this bridge was built in the mid 80s to divert traffic from a difficult section of roadway. July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Bowral Road: Entering the town of Mittagong, northbound July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Approaching Bessemmer Street: Northbound on Bowral Road Mittagong, approaching the town centre, July 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Mittagong: Old Hune Highway (SR79 / TD14) as it passes through Mittagong town centre, April 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Intersection Directional Sign: ID sign at the junction with Louisa St and Fitzroy St at Mittagong, April 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Nattai River: Old Hume Hwy (SR79 / TD14) as it crosses Nattai River at Mittagong, April 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Distance Sign: RD sign at Mittagong, April 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Railway Terrace: Corner of Old Hume Hwy (SR79 / TD14) and Railway Tce at Mittagong, April 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Entering Braemar: Old Hume Hwy as it enters the town of Braemar, April 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Braemar Avenue: Corner of Old Hume Hwy and Braemar Av at Braemar, April 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	End Tourist Drive 14: Sign at Aylmerton showing the end of TD14, April 2010. Image © Paul Rands
	Chalkerville Road: Corner of Old Hume Hwy and Chalkerville Rd at Aylmerton, April 2010. Chalkerville Rd is a former alignment of the Hume Highway, which became a local road when the Mittagong Bypass was constructed. Image © Paul Rands
	Hume Highway Interchange: Northern terminus of SR79, the interchange with Hume Hwy (NH31) at Aylmerton, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
Click here for the continuation of SR79 between Bomaderry and Fitzroy Falls

1 Roads and Traffic Authority, Schedule of Classified Roads (and unclassified Regional Roads), 25 February 2008
2 Roads and Traffic Authority, Heritage & Conservation Register, Hampden Bridge

Last updated: 30-May-2017 12:05

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