Grand Ridge Road

Route

Grand Ridge Road begins at the intersection Korumburra-Warragul Road in Seaview and runs in an easterly direction as a narrow dual-lane, single-carriageway sealed road via Allembee South to eventually meet Strzelecki Highway at Mirboo North, where the road quality improves as a dual-lane single-carriageway rural highway. It continues east as a narrow sealed road just beyond Mirboo, where the road quality degrades further into a single-lane dirt and gravel mountain road as it winds through the eastern Strzelecki Ranges; many sections are quite steep and passing opportunities are usually possible only at road junctions. The road quality improves to a narrow dual-lane sealed road where it meets Tarra Valley Road, and continues east as a sealed road until its eastern terminus at the intersection with Hyland Highway in Willung South.

The unsealed section of the road is heavily used by logging trucks throughout the year. Large trees and branches often fall after high winds. This road is not recommended for caravans.

History

The passing of the Country Roads Act of 1912 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. Leongatha-Yarragon Road from Leongatha North via Hallston and Allambee to Yarragon, and Warragul-Leongatha Road from Ellinbank via Seaview to Hallston, were declared Main Roads, on 10 November 1913; Boolarra-Welshpool Road from Boolarra via Wonyip to Welshpool, Jeeralang West Road from Wonyip via Grand Ridge, Jeeralang and Hazelwood to Morwell, Balook-Traralgon Road from Devon North via Balook to Traralgon, and Carrajung-Gormandale Road from Yarram via Calrossie and Balook to Carrajung, were declared Main Roads on 1 December 1913.

The passing of the Developmental Roads Act of 1918 through the Parliament of Victoria provided for the declaration of Developmental Roads, roads which would serve to develop any area of land by providing access to a railway station for primary producers. Boolarra South-Mirboo Road was declared a Developmental Road on 11 April 1919, and The Ridge Road, from the intersection with Jeeralang West Road north of Grand Ridge to the intersection with Yarram-Balook Road west of Balook, was declared a Developmental Road on 2 July 1919.

Construction of (The) Ridge Road was detailed in the Country Roads Board's annual review for the 1924/25 financial year, referencing a longer route running from Seaview, Mirboo, Gunyah, Ryton, through Balook, Blackwarry to Carrajung (for a total of 66 miles, subsuming the original declarations of Warragul-Leongatha Road between Seaview and Hallston, Leongatha-Yarragon Road through Hallston, Boolarra-Welshpool Road between Boolarra South and Wonyip, Jeeralang West Road between Wonyip and Grand Ridge, Balook-Traralgon Road through Balook, and Carrajung-Gormandale Road from Balook to Carrajung, as Main Roads; and subsuming Boolarra South-Mirboo Road from Mirboo North to Boolarra South and Jeeralang West Road between Grand Ridge and Balook as a Developmental Road), described to "play an important part in the further development of the hill country of South Gippsland"; it was referred to as Grand Ridge Road from 1933.

A section of the road between Wonyip and Albert River was later declared as part of Midland Highway in 1939; this was later incorporated back into Grand Ridge Road when highway status was revoked in 1990.

Grand Ridge Road was signed as State Route 190 between Wonyip and Albert River (as part of the Midland Highway) in 1986; despite the revocation of the highway in 1990, this section was still signed as such until the change-over to the new alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, when all traces of the former route were removed. It is today signed as Tourist Route 93 for its entire route; its eastern section between Balook and Willung South is also signed Tourist Route 94 as part of the eastern loop of the Strzelecki Trail.

The passing of the Road Management Act 2004 granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to VicRoads: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared the road as The Grand Ridge Road (Arterial #4023) between Tarra Valley Road in Balook and Hyland Highway at Willung South; the remaining section of Grand Ridge Road between Seaview and Balook remains undeclared.

Significant intersections

|LGA-S=South Gippsland Western terminus of route C456

Notes

Sources

• http://206gti.net/grr/
• http://gippsland.com/Directory/Trails/GrandRidgeRoad.asp

References

1. "Grand Ridge Road".
2. (5 November 1913). "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria.
3. (31 December 1925). "Country Roads Board Victoria. Twelfth Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1925". Victorian Government Library Service.
4. [http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/hist_act/cra1912182.pdf ''An Act relating to Country Roads''] State of Victoria, 23 December 1912
5. (14 January 1914). "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria.
6. [https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/hist_act/dra1918204.pdf ''An Act to make provision for Developmental Roads and to amend the Country Roads Acts''] State of Victoria, 4 April 1918
7. (18 June 1919). "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria.
8. (23 July 1919). "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria.
9. (19 November 1934). "Country Roads Board Victoria. Twenty-First Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1934". Victorian Government Library Service.
10. (10 November 1939). "Country Roads Board Victoria. Twenty-Sixth Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1939". Victorian Government Library Service.
11. (15 August 1990). "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria.
12. (12 September 1990). "Victorian Government Gazette". State Library of Victoria.
13. State Government of Victoria. "Road Management Act 2004". Government of Victoria.
14. VicRoads. "VicRoads – Register of Public Roads (Part A) 2015". Government of Victoria.