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Camden Valley Way, Camden Bypass, Remembrance Drive & Old Hume Highway (State Route 89) - Picton To Bargo (Decommissioned)

Statistics:

• Length: 72 km (Picton to Bargo: 16 km)
• Northern Terminus: Hume Highway / South Western Freeway (Metroad 5) interchange at Prestons, near Liverpool in southwestern Sydney
• Southern Terminus: Hume Highway (NH31) interchange at Alpine, north of Mittagong
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities along route: Prestons, Catherine Field, Leppington, Denham Court, Smeaton Grange, Narellan, Elderslie, Camden, Menangle, Razorback, Picton, Tahmoor, Bargo, Yanderra, Yerringbool and Alpine

Route Numbering:

• Former:
• Multiplexed with:
• Decommissioned: 2013

General Information:

State Route 89 is the former Hume Highway alignment between Prestons and Alpine near Mittagong. More of the former Hume Highway alignment continues from the northern terminus into the town of Liverpool. That section is defunct as far as numbering is concerned. This happened when the Roads and Traffic Authority decommisioned the Metroad 7 route between the M2 Hills Motorway at West Pennant Hills to the Metroad 5 Hume Highway at Prestons upon opening the Westlink M7 motorway in December 2005.

The route has a very big history, which goes back to the the first road south from Sydney, known as the Great South Road, which was formed in the 1800s. Some sections of the route still utilise the concrete pavement laid in the 1940s. The route is made up of mostly undivided road, however there's sections of 2 lane rural style road, 3 lane road and 4 lane roadway throughout the route, the Camden Bypass is freeway standard from Narellan and Elderslie.

Multiplexes along the route include:

• Tourist Drive 12 from Prestons to Picton and between Tahmoor and Alpine

History:

• 1914: Sydney-Melbourne road (Great South Road) is declared a main road
• 1928: Sections of Great South Road renamed to Hume Highway
• 1940: Hume Highway is (mostly) paved
• 1950s: In 1952, a group of citizens met and formed a committee under Lt-General Sir Frank Berryman to create a national memorial to servicemen by using trees and shrubs as living memorials. The NSW Premier, J J Cahill, officially launched the scheme on 9 December 1953. The Remembrance Driveway project as it was called started on 5 February 1954, when trees were planted at either end of the Driveway at the War Memorial, Canberra, and in Macquarie Place, Sydney, by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. By June 1959, 10,000 trees had been planted. Since then, planting of trees in avenues or groves has continued. When the M5 Motorway replaced the Hume Highway (and also Camden Valley Way) south of Liverpool, it became the focus for planting trees and shrubs in remembrance. 1
• 1959: an experiment using advisory speed signs on curves on the Hume Highway between Camden and Berrima was successful and was extended to other roads. 1
• 1970s: Construction of high standard 4 lane freeway between Campbelltown and Prestons, DMR also built another high standard 4 lane road between Bargo and Alpine (near Mittagong)
• 1973: Opening of the 1km long Macarthur Bridge over the Nepean River at Elderslie and Camden
• 26 October 1973: A six mile (9.7 km) section of the South Western Freeway (formerly F5, now Hume Hwy (Metroad 5)) from Cross Roads to Raby Road opened. 1
• 1974: South Western Freeway extended to Narellan Road near Campbelltown.
• May 1977: South Western Freeway between Yanderra and Alpine opens to traffic. SR89 designation given to the route when the Hume Highway was moved to the South Western Freeway
• March 1989: the Berrima Bypass on Hume Highway opened to traffic2. State Route 89 assigned to the old highway route between Mittagong and Berrima
• 1992: the Mittagong Bypass on Hume Highway opened to traffic. State Route 89 assigned to the Old Hume Highway through Mittagong from Aylmerton to Welby
• Mid 1990s: State Route 89 decommissioned between Alpine and Berrima, replaced by Tourist Drive 17
• December 2005: work was completed to upgrade Camden Valley Way to four lanes between the M7 interchange and Bernera Road, Prestons 1
• 2006: upgrade at the intersection of Camden Valley Way and Raby Road at Catherine Field 1
• 2007: funding allocated to continue upgrading Camden Valley Way to four-lanes between Bernera Road, Prestons and Narellan Road, Narellan 1

Picton to Bargo			Bargo to Picton
Preview:	Description:		Preview:	Description:
	Intersection Directional Sign: ID sign facing Avon Dam Rd at Bargo, August 2010. Image © Paul Rands			Northbound at Bargo: Travelling northbound at Bargo after the interchange to the Hume Highway and also the Remembrance Drive (SR89) intersection. December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Bargo approaching Hume Hwy (NH31) interchange and Old Hume Hwy (SR89 / TD12), August 2010. Note the missing SR89 & TD12 route numbers. Image © Paul Rands			Passing the Bargo Welcome Sign: Northbound as you enter Bargo. December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Bargo approaching Hume Hwy (NH31) interchange and Old Hume Hwy (SR89 / TD12), August 2010. Image © Paul Rands			Lupton Road Intersection: Northbound as you pass the Lupton Road intersection, you can access the northfacing ramps to the Hume Hwy (NH31) via this road. December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
	Hume Highway Interchange & Old Hume Highway: Remembrance Driveway (Old Hume Hwy) (SR89 / TD12) at the intersection with Hume Hwy (NH31) and Old Hume Hwy (SR89 / TD12), August 2010. SR89 / TD12 turns right at this location. Image © Paul Rands			Distance Sign: RD sign as you head northbound at Bargo, after the Lupton Rd intersection, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Northbound in Bargo: Remembrance Drive as it passes by Bargo Bowling Club, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Freeway Green Advance Directional Sign: Northbound sign assembly featuring a newer standard green AD sign and a 1980s freeway green AD sign as you approach the intersection with Great Southern Road and Avon Dam Road. December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Intersection Directional Sign: Northbound ID sign at the intersection that connects you with Avon Dam Road and Great Southern Road in Bargo, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Bargo Town Centre: Northbound in the Bargo town centre, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Northbound Through Bargo: Remembrance Drive as it travels through the residential areas of north of the Bargo town centre, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Priority Road Intersection Warning Sign: Northbound warning sign at Bargo indicating that Remembrance Drive was once a priority road, December 2006. According to the 1982 NSW Motor Traffic Handbook. A priority road was a major road with side streets that are controlled by stop or give way signs. Image © Paul Rands
				Wellers Road Intersection: Northbound at Wellers Road in Bargo, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Northbound at Bargo: Northbound near Yarran Road at Bargo, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Approaching Caloola Road: Signage approaching the intersection with Caloola Road. An older Hume Hwy alignment is near here on the left of shot. December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Bargo River: Northbound as you approach the bridge over the Bargo River, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Entering Tahmoor: Northbound near Bargo River Road, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Tahmoor Welcome Sign: Wollondilly Shire Council town welcome sign as you enter Tahmoor, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Northbound at Tahmoor: Typical road conditions through Tahmoor, outside the Tahmoor Inn, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Tahmoor Town Centre: Northbound in Tahmoor. Tahmoor is a local aboriginal word meaning "Bronzewinged Pidgeon" 3. December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Thirlmere Way Intersection: Northbound on the corner of Remembrance Drive and Thirlmere Way in Tahmoor, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
				Myrtle Creek Tahmoor: Crossing Myrtle Creek as you leave Tahmoor, northbound, December 2006. Image © Paul Rands
Click here for the continuation of SR89 between Bargo and Alpine Click here for the continuation of SR89 between Picton and Camden

1 Roads and Traffic Authority
2 Argyle County web site
3 Wollondilly Tourism Association

Last updated: 15-Aug-2020 15:08

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