New England Online > Geography > Transport > Roads and Motorways > State Highways
State Highways
From 2016 until 2039, state highways were a feature of the driving landscape in New England. The network consisted of five roads, each of which was chosen because it designated to become a motorway after redevelopment. Indeed, the entire state highway system was deliberately meant to be superceded by the motorways and was therefore considered temporary until the roads chosen for redevelopment could be upgraded to the appropriate standard. After a somewhat prolonged existence, the last stretch of state highway between Ellenborough and Yarrowitch was superceded in 2039, leading to the full abolition of the scheme.
- Origins
- Routes
- Demise
Origins
The existence of state highways can be traced back to reforms of the Meyer government in 2016 when the old Australian shield route numbering and classification system was abolished and replaced with alphanumeric numbering and classification. The new scheme had it's origins in an Australian agreement dating back to 1997, but by the time New England became independent, the system was far from complete. In 2015, the newly elected government of Jacob Meyer decided to adopt the plan, but deliberately refrained from implementing the highest "M" tier until the roads could be upgraded to a suitable standard.
As a work around to the absence of the motorways, the government plan called for the placement of five numbered routes that would operate temporarily until the new motorways could be built over them. The first route, Highway 2, was commissioned on 1 July 2016, with the remaining four route commissioned over the following days. The choice of routes had come from a study into urban population growth conducted by the previous government, which found that Armidale, Coffs Harbour, Inverell and Port Macquarie should be the major urban centres, and should therefore be luinked together by a system of large and well maintained roads.
Routes
There were five state highway routes, which as indicted in the study, combined to link together the major urban centres of the country. On maps, the highways were usually marked in red. The routes were as follows:
| State Highways | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Length | Route | Lifespan | |
 |
State Highway 1 | 436km | Port Macquarie to Tenterfield | 2016 - 2039 |
 |
State Highway 2 | 319km | Kendall to Yamba | 2016 - 2026 |
 |
State Highway 3 | 119km | Inverell to Uralla | 2016 - 2035 |
 |
State Highway 4 | 203km | Yarrowyck to Raleigh | 2016 - 2022 |
 |
State Highway 5 | 260km | Grafton to Delungra | 2016 - 2029 |
Demise
Almost from the day they were put in place, the state highway system began to be replaced. Small stretches of motorway existed already, but there was not yet enough dual carriage built to begin re-badging whole routes. However, it was only six months before the first motorway was inaugurated at Raleigh, with the dedication of the M2 between Coffs Harbour and Urunga. As the years went by, the state highways began to slowly dissapear, and by 2035 only one stretch of highway was left between Ellenborough and Yarrowitch. It took four years before the new motorway could be opened, as it traversed some of the most difficult terrain in New England. However, once complete, the need for the state highways was gone, and they were formally abolished by the Highways (Amendment) Act in 2040.
