Loddon Valley Highway runs roughly north-west from Bendigo to Kerang.[5] It constitutes part of the direct route from Melbourne to the popular Murray River holiday areas around Swan Hill.

Loddon Valley Highway

Loddon Valley Highway is located in Victoria
North end
North end
South end
South end
Coordinates
General information
TypeHighway
Length124 km (77 mi)[3]
GazettedSeptember 1915 (as Main Road)[1]
1946 (as State Highway)[2]
Route number(s) B260 (1998–present)
Former
route number
State Route 141 (1986–1998)
Major junctions
North end Murray Valley Highway
Kerang, Victoria
  Boort–Pyramid Road
South end Calder Highway
Ironbark, Bendigo
Location(s)
RegionLoddon Mallee[4]
Major settlementsDurham Ox, Serpentine, Eaglehawk
Highway system

Route

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Loddon Valley Highway commences at the intersection with Murray Valley Highway just south of the fringes of Kerang and heads in a southerly direction as a dual-lane single carriageway rural highway, running parallel to the Loddon River a short distance to the west of the road for much of its length. It continues south through Durham Ox until it reaches Serpentine, where it veers more to the south-east away from the river course, passing through the hills around Eaglehawk on the outskirts of Greater Bendigo, before it eventually terminates at the intersection with Calder Highway in Ironbark, in the north-western suburbs of Bendigo.

History

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Within Victoria, the passing of the Country Roads Act of 1912[6] through the Parliament of Victoria provided for the establishment of the Country Roads Board (later VicRoads) and their ability to declare Main Roads, taking responsibility for the management, construction and care of the state's major roads from local municipalities. Bendigo-Serpentine Road was declared a Main Road from Bendigo to Yarraberb on 20 September 1915,[1] and Loddon Valley Road from Kerang through Durham Ox to Serpentine was declared a Main Road in the 1937/38 financial year.[7]

The passing of the Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924[8] provided for the declaration of State Highways, roads two-thirds financed by the State government through the Country Roads Board. Loddon Valley Highway was declared a State Highway in 1946,[2] from Kerang via Serpentine to Bendigo, subsuming the original declarations of Loddon Valley Road and Bendigo-Serpentine Road as Main Roads.

Loddon Valley Highway was signed as State Route 141 between Kerang and Bendigo in 1986; with Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, this was replaced by route B260.

The passing of the Road Management Act 2004[9] granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to VicRoads: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared the road as Loddon Valley Highway (Arterial #6630), beginning at Murray Valley Highway at Kerang and ending at Calder Highway in Ironbark, Bendigo.[5]

Major intersections

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LGALocation[3][5]km[3]miDestinationsNotes
GannawarraKerang0.00.0  Murray Valley Highway (B400) – Kerang, Swan Hill, Cohuna, EchucaNorthern terminus of highway and route B260
LoddonDurham Ox40.625.2  Boort–Pyramid Road (C267 east) – Pyramid Hill, CohunaConcurrency with route C267
42.326.3  Boort–Pyramid Road (C267 west) – Boort, Wycheproof
Jarklin52.532.6  Boort–Mitiamo Road (C334) – Mitiamo, Echuca
Serpentine75.246.7  Bridgewater–Serpentine Road (C274) – Bridgewater On Loddon, Dunolly
Greater BendigoWoodvale115.571.8Swan Hill railway line
Eaglehawk119.174.0  Sailors Gully Road (Bendigo–Pyramid Road) (C336) – Pyramid Hill
California Gully120.274.7Swan Hill railway line
120.374.8  Sandhurst Road (C329) – Bendigo, HeathcoteTraffic light intersection
Long Gully122.075.8  Holdsworth Road (C333) – White Hills
122.776.2  Creeth Street (Golden Square–Long Gully Road) (C323) – West Bendigo, Golden SquareTraffic light intersection
Ironbark123.876.9  Calder Highway (A79) – Marong, Mildura, Bendigo, MelbourneSouthern terminus of highway and route B260 at traffic light intersection

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria. 16 August 1915. p. 3123. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Country Roads Board Victoria. Thirty-Third Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1946". Country Roads Board of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 3 December 1946. p. 5.
  3. ^ a b c "Loddon Valley Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Victoria's Regions". Regional Development Victoria. Victoria State Government. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  5. ^ a b c VicRoads. "VicRoads – Register of Public Roads 2024" (PDF). Government of Victoria. p. 940. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  6. ^ An Act relating to Country Roads State of Victoria, 23 December 1912
  7. ^ "Country Roads Board Victoria. Twenty-Fifth Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1938". Country Roads Board of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Library Service. 24 November 1938. p. 14.
  8. ^ An Act to make further provision with respect to Highways and Country Roads Motor Cars and Traction Engines and for other purposes State of Victoria, 30 December 1924
  9. ^ State Government of Victoria. "Road Management Act 2004" (PDF). Government of Victoria. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.