Maroondah Highway

Maroondah Highway
see other route designations below
Length	188 km (117 mi)
Direction	Southwest-Northeast
From	Cotham Road, Balwyn, Melbourne
via	Nunawading, Ringwood, Lilydale, Coldstream, Healesville, Buxton, Alexandra, Merton
To	Midland Highway, Mansfield, Victoria
Allocation	Balwyn-Lilydale: Lilydale-Coldstream: Formerly Coldstream-Alexandra: Formerly Alexandra-Koriella Formerly Koriella-Yarck: Formerly Yarck-Maindample: Formerly Maindample-Mansfield: Formerly
Major junctions	EastLink Warburton Highway Melba Highway Goulburn Valley Highway for full list see major intersections

Maroondah Highway (also known as Whitehorse Road from Balwyn to Croydon), is a major east-west thoroughfare in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and a highway servicing the lower alpine region Victoria, Australia.

History

In the 1850s, Whitehorse Road was built to be the primary route from Melbourne to Gippsland, a rather circuitous route which went via the Dandenong Ranges. The primary route to Gippsland from the CBD is now through Monash Freeway and the South Gippsland Highway.

The road, when first built, was named Three Chain Road, due to the road width being 66 yards (60 m) wide.

The traffic led to the establishment of a hotel in Box Hill named the White Horse hotel which had been named in respect to a horse belonging to Capt Elgar, a property owner in the area. It is this hotel of which the road obtained its name. However, the hotel was forced to shut its doors in 1921 when Box Hill became a dry area. A replica of the white horse from the roof of the hotel now stands in the median strip of Whitehorse Road, while the restored original is located in the Box Hill town hall.

Route

Whitehorse Road begins as a continuation of Cotham Road at Burke Road, in the suburb of Balwyn/Deepdene. At this point, it is a typical inner-Melbourne, four lane, single carriageway arterial road. The route 109 tram also runs along this stretch of the road, making the road quite congested throughout daylight hours.

The road continues through Mont Albert, until its intersection with Elgar Road in Box Hill, where the road becomes a four lane dual carriageway with trams running down the central median strip. Burke Road and Elgar Roads being the east and west boundaries of Capt Elgar's original two mile square property. The tram terminates at Market Street, a few blocks further on. From this point, Whitehorse Road is also known as Maroondah Highway, a three lane divided highway, though it retains its name through the municipals of Whitehorse and Maroondah. It passes through the suburbs of Blackburn, Nunawading, Mitcham, Ringwood and Croydon. From here, the Maroondah Highway continues on past Lilydale, as a rural highway. There is a moderately steep and moderately twisty section through forest between Healesville and Buxton, and the road then continues through farmland all the way through to Mansfield via Alexandra and Bonnie Doon.

Speed limit

• Kew-Box Hill (Middleborough Road) 60 km/h
• Box Hill-Blackburn 70 km/h
• Blackburn-Ringwood 80 km/h
• Ringwood 60 km/h
• Ringwood-Lilydale 80 km/h
• Lilydale 50 km/h
• Lilydale-Coldstream 80 km/h
• Coldstream 70 km/h
• Coldstream-Healesville 100 km/h
• Healesville 50/60 km/h
• Black Spur 80 km/h
• Narbethong-Mansfield 100 km/h
• Mansfield 50 km/h

Major intersections and towns

Maroondah Highway
Westbound	Distance to Kew (km)	Distance to Alexandra (km)	Eastbound
End Whitehorse Road (Maroondah Highway) continues as Cotham Road to Kew / Melbourne	2.5	119.5	Start Whitehorse Road (Maroondah Highway) from Cotham Road
Camberwell, Heidelberg Burke Road			Heidelberg, Camberwell Burke Road
Balwyn	4.3	117.7	Balwyn
Canterbury, Doncaster Balwyn Road			Doncaster, Canterbury Balwyn Road
Burwood, Doncaster; Melbourne via Freeway Elgar Road	7.3	114.7	Doncaster, Burwood Elgar Road
Westbound	Distance to Box Hill (km)	Distance to Alexandra (km)	Eastbound
Box Hill	0	114	Box Hill
Huntingdale, Doncaster Station Street	0.1	113.9	Doncaster, Huntingdale Station Street
Mount Waverley, Doncaster; Melbourne via Freeway Middleborough Road	1.4	112.6	Doncaster, Mount Waverley Middleborough Road
Blackburn, Edithvale Chapel Street (Blackburn Road)	2.9	111.1	Blackburn, Edithvale Chapel Street (Blackburn Road)
Doncaster East, Warrandyte; Melbourne via Freeway Surrey Road (Blackburn Road)	3	111	Doncaster East, Warrandyte Surrey Road (Blackburn Road)
Nunawading	4.8	109.2	Nunawading
Glen Waverley, Donvale; Melbourne via Freeway Springvale Road			Donvale, Glen Waverley Springvale Road
Mitcham	6.4	107.6	Mitcham
Wantirna, Donvale, Doncaster Mitcham Road			Donvale, Wantirna, Boronia Mitcham Road
Doncaster, Melbourne EastLink Ringwood Bypass	8.4	105.6	Doncaster, Melbourne EastLink Ringwood Bypass
Dandenong, Frankston EastLink _			Dandenong, Frankston EastLink _
Wantirna Wantirna Road	9.4	104.6	Wantirna Wantirna Road
Ringwood	9.5	104.5	Ringwood
Warrandyte Warrandyte Road	9.7	104.3	Warrandyte Warrandyte Road
Westbound	Distance to Melbourne via (km)	Distance to Alexandra (km)	Eastbound
Croydon, Mount Dandenong Mount Dandenong Road Melbourne, Frankston via EastLink Ringwood Bypass	28.4	103.6	Croydon, Montrose, Mount Dandenong Mount Dandenong Road To Ringwood Bypass
Croydon, Bayswater Kent Avenue	32.8	99.2	Croydon Kent Avenue
Wonga Park, Warrandyte Yarra Road	33	99	Wonga Park Yarra Road
continues as Whitehorse Road (Maroondah Highway)	34	98	continues as Maroondah Highway
Boronia, Ferntree Gully Dorset Road	35.5	96.5	Boronia Dorset Road
LILYDALE RAIL LINE	40.9	91.1	LILYDALE RAIL LINE
Lilydale	41	91	Lilydale
Monbulk, Belgrave, Narre Warren, Cranbourne; Montrose, Bayswater, Vermont Anderson Street	41.5	90.5	Monbulk, Belgrave; Montrose Anderson Street
End Start	43.5	88.5	Woori Yallock, Warburton Warburton Highway
Woori Yallock, Warburton Warburton Highway			End Start
Coldstream	46	86	Coldstream
End continues as	47	85	Yarra Glen, Yea Melba Highway
Yarra Glen Melba Highway			continues as
Woori Yallock, Cockatoo, Pakenham, Koo Wee Rup Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road _	61	71	Woori Yallock, Cockatoo Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road _
Yarra Glen, Kinglake, Yea Healesville-Kinglake Road _	63	69	Yarra Glen, Kinglake, Yea Healesville-Kinglake Road _
Healesville	63.5	68.5	Healesville
Badger Creek Badger Creek Road _	64	68	Badger Creek Badger Creek Road _
Mount Donna Buang, Yarra Junction Don Road	64.5	67.5	Mount Donna Buang, Yarra Junction Don Road
Narbethong	87	47	Narbethong
Marysville; To Mount Donna Buang, Warburton Marysville Road _	88	44	Marysville, Lake Mountain, Cambarville; To Warburton Marysville Road _
Marysville; To Lake Mountain Buxton-Marysville Road _	102.5	29.5	Marysville Buxton-Marysville Road _
Buxton	103	29	Buxton
Eildon Taggerty-Thornton Road _	114	18	Eildon, Jamieson Taggerty-Thornton Road _
Alexandra	132	0	Alexandra
Southbound	Distance to Alexandra (km)	Distance to Mansfield (km)	Northbound
continues as	0	69	Eildon Goulburn Valley Highway
Eildon Goulburn Valley Highway			End continues as
End continues as	7	62	Yea, Seymour Goulburn Valley Highway
Yea, Seymour Goulburn Valley Highway			continues as
Westbound	Distance to Melbourne via Yarra Glen (km)	Distance to Mansfield (km)	Eastbound
continues as	133	56	no intersection
Yea, Seymour, Yarra Glen, Melbourne Maroondah Link Highway			End continues as
Euroa, Shepparton Euroa-Mansfield Road _	152	37	Euroa, Shepparton Euroa-Mansfield Road _
Merton			Merton
Bonnie Doon	167	22	Bonnie Doon
End continues as	177	12	Wodonga, Sydney via To Freeway; Benalla, Shepparton Midland Link Highway
Benalla Midland Link Highway			continues as
Mansfield	189	0	Mansfield
Start Maroondah Highway			End Maroondah Highway
Roundabout (clockwise from highway) Midland Highway to Benalla and Shepparton Mount Buller Road to Mount Buller; to Whitfield; and to Jamieson Highett Street

See also

• Highways in Australia
• Highways in Victoria