Northern Highway Victoria |
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Type | Highway |
Length | 164 km (102 mi) |
Route number(s) | B75 |
Former route number |
National Route 75 |
North end |
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South end |
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Major settlements | Rochester, Elmore, Heathcote, Kilmore |
The Northern Highway is a secondary highway in northern Victoria. Along with the M/A79 Calder Highway (Melbourne to Mildura) and the M/A39 Goulburn Valley Highway (Melbourne to Tocumwal), it provides primary arterial links in the region. In conjunction with the B280 McIvor Highway, the B75 Northern Highway provides an important link between Melbourne and Bendigo.
It runs from the M31 Hume Freeway south of Wallan to the New South Wales Border at Echuca, on the banks of the Murray River, a distance of 164 kilometres. The highway traverses moderately hilly terrain from Wallan to Toolleen, then flat open country to the border at Echuca. Beyond Echuca across the NSW border it continues as Cobb Highway. The section between the Hume Highway south of Wallan and the intersection of the highway and the Kilmore-Broadford Rd was, in fact, the Hume Highway until 1976, when the Hume Freeway replaced the old highway and bypassed Wallan, Kilmore and Broadford.
The Northern Highway and the beginning of the McIvor Highway form a junction at Heathcote. The McIvor Highway leads to Bendigo and the Northern Highway continues to Echuca.
The B75 Northern Highway is a significant freight route providing access to markets, airport and port in Melbourne and the rural primary production areas of the Murray Valley and southern New South Wales. It serves a number of agricultural and tourism-related industries along its length.