Putty Road
Putty Road | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Putty Road near Wombat Swamp, Mellong | |
  North end South end | |
| Coordinates | |
| General information | |
| Type | Road |
| Length | 168 km (104 mi)[1] |
| Opened | 1823[2] |
| Gazetted | August 1939[3] |
| Route number(s) |
|
| Former route number |  State Route 69 (1974–2013)Entire route |
| Major junctions | |
| North end |  New England HighwaySingleton, New South Wales |
 Golden Highway | |
| South end | Wilberforce Road Wilberforce, New South Wales |
| Location(s) | |
| Major suburbs | Mount Thorley, Milbrodale, Putty, Colo Heights, Colo |
(The) Putty Road is a 168-kilometre (104 mi)-long[1] rural road that links the Hunter Region in New South Wales to Wilberforce, just north of Windsor on the far northwestern suburban edge of Sydney, Australia.[4]
Route
Putty Road commences as John Street in Singleton, running in a southerly direction as a two-lane, single carriageway road, crossing the Main Northern railway line as Putty Road and continuing south until the intersection with Mitchells Line of Road (part of Golden Highway); Putty Road and Golden Highway and Putty Road are concurrent for around 2 kilometres through the Mount Thorley industrial estate, before Putty Road branches south-east to run through Bulga, Milbrodale, Putty and Colo, bounded to the west and east by protected national parks – the Wollemi National Park to the west, and the Yengo National Park to the east – both part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Greater Blue Mountains Area. Putty Road eventually terminates at the intersection of King Road and Wilberforce Road in Wilberforce, 6km north of Windsor.
Putty Road is very historic, closely following the Bulga Road (named after the Bulga Creek), first explored by John Howe, Chief Constable of Windsor, being the first road to link Sydney to the Hunter Valley. It was opened in 1823 and was initially a popular cattle-duffing (an Australian term for cattle-rustling) route.[2] The road is narrow and winding in places and very scenic, but may be hazardous during wet weather. It is popular with tourists, motorcyclists and cyclists.[5]
History
The passing of the Main Roads Act of 1924[6] through the Parliament of New South Wales provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (MRB, later Transport for NSW). With the subsequent passing of the Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929[7] to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, the Department of Main Roads (having succeeded the MRB in 1932) declared Main Road 503 from Lower Kurrajong via Upper Colo, Putty and Bulga to Singleton on 23 August 1939;[3] the southern end was re-aligned to run via Colo to terminate at Wilberforce on 17 January 1945;[8] its former alignment to Lower Kurrajong was redeclared as Main Road 519.[8] Its northern end was truncated to the intersection with Golden Highway at Mount Thorley on 22 November 1996; the western end of Main Road 128 was extended to cover its former alignment from Mount Thorley into Singleton (and continuing eastwards to East Gresford).[9]
The passing of the Roads Act of 1993[10] updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Putty Road retains its declaration as Main Road 503 and part of Main Road 128.[11]
Putty Road was allocated part of State Route 69 in 1974. With the conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 2013, it was removed and the route is now unallocated, apart from the short concurrency with route B84 along Golden Highway through Mount Thorley.
Major intersections
| LGA | Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singleton | Singleton | 0.0 | 0.0 | Queen Street, to Gresford Road – East Gresford | Northern terminus of road |
| New England Highway (A15) – Muswellbrook, Tamworth, Branxton, Newcastle | Eastbound exit from New England Highway only | ||||
| 0.2 | 0.12 | Newton Street (west) – Darlington Campbell Street (east) – Singleton to New England Highway (A15) – Muswellbrook, Tamworth, Branxton, Newcastle | Roundabout | ||
| 1.6 | 0.99 | Main Northern railway line | |||
| Mount Thorley | 8.8 | 5.5 | Mitchell Line of Road (Golden Highway) (B84 east) – Branxton | Eastern concurrency terminus with Golden Highway Route B84 continues east along Mitchell Line of Road | |
| 9.7 | 6.0 | Broke Road – Broke | |||
| 12.1 | 7.5 | Jerrys Plains Road (Golden Highway) (B84 north) – Warkworth Mount Thorley Road (south) – Mount Thorley | Western concurrency terminus with Golden Highway Route B84 continues north along Jersey Plains Road | ||
| Wollombi Brook | 21.5 | 13.4 | Wollombi Brook Bridge | ||
| Singleton | Milbrodale | 27.4 | 17.0 | Milbrodale Road – Broke | |
| Macdonald River | 62.6 | 38.9 | Bridge over river (name not known) | ||
| Singleton | Putty | 82.5 | 51.3 | Putty Valley Road – Putty | |
| Colo River | 150.5 | 93.5 | Bridge over river (name not known) | ||
| Hawkesbury | Colo | 150.7 | 93.6 | Upper Colo Road (west) – Central Colo, Upper Colo Lower Colo Road (east) – Lower Portland | |
| East Kurrajong | 159.3 | 99.0 | Bull Ridge Road – Sackville | ||
| 160.4 | 99.7 | East Kurrajong Road – Kurrajong | |||
| Wilberforce | 168.4 | 104.6 | King Road (east), to Sackville Road – Sackville King Street (west) – Wilberforce | ||
| Wilberforce Road – Windsor | Southern terminus of road | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Putty Road" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ a b "State Route 69: Northern Section: Windsor to Singleton via Putty Road". OzRoads. 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2014.[self-published source]
- ^ a b "Main Roads Act, 1924-1938". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 129. National Library of Australia. 25 August 1939. p. 4193. Archived from the original on 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ "Map of Putty Road, NSW". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ^ "Australia's best motorcycle roads: Putty Road". Motorcycle Paradise. 29 December 2007. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ^ State of New South Wales, An Act to provide for the better construction, maintenance, and financing of main roads; to provide for developmental roads; to constitute a Main Roads Board Archived 11 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 10 November 1924
- ^ State of New South Wales, An Act to amend the Main Roads Act, 1924-1927; to confer certain further powers upon the Main Roads Board; to amend the Local Government Act, 1919, and certain other Acts; to validate certain payments and other matters; and for purposes connected therewith. Archived 12 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 8 April 1929
- ^ a b "Main Roads Act, 1924-1939". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 13. National Library of Australia. 2 February 1945. p. 235. Archived from the original on 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ "Roads Act". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 134. National Library of Australia. 22 November 1996. pp. 7657–72. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ State of New South Wales, An Act to make provision with respect to the roads of New South Wales; to repeal the State Roads Act 1986, the Crown and Other Roads Act 1990 and certain other enactments; and for other purposes. Archived 11 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine 10 November 1924
- ^ Transport for NSW (August 2022). "Schedule of Classified Roads and Unclassified Regional Roads" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
