Length:

30 km

Termini:

Eastern: Harris Street & Regent Street, Ultimo

Western: Cumberland Hwy (A28) & Hume Hwy (A28), Liverpool

Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route:

Liverpool, Warwick Farm, Cabramatta, Canley Vale, Carramar, Lansvale, Lansdowne, Villawood, Bass Hill, Yagoona, Bankstown, Greenacre, Chullora, Strathfield, Strathfield South, Enfield, Burwood, Burwood Heights, Croydon, Ashfield, Summer Hill, Leichhardt, Petersham, Stanmore, Annandale, Camperdown, Chippendale and Ultimo

Current: A22

Former: 31 4 5 31 32

Road Authority Internal Classification: ¹

HW2 (Hume Hwy)

HW5 (Parramatta Rd)

General Information:

A22 is a main route in and out of Sydney's CBD to the city's southwestern suburbs.

Formed by some of the earliest roads built in the colony, the route is generally multi-lane and passes through commercial, residential and industrial areas.

Features along the route include Remembrance Driveway, which commemorates fallen soldiers at war. Also along the route at the Woodville Rd junction in Villawood, is the Meccano Set. It's an unusual overhead installation of traffic signals. Its nickname comes from the Meccano toy, which some people say the intersection resembles. Eastbound traffic also uses one of the oldest bridges still in use in metropolitan Sydney at Lansdowne.

At the corner of Woodville Rd, Henry Lawson Dr and Hume Hwy at Lansvale sits one of Sydney's most well-known road structures. Named after the child's toy, the "Meccano Set" is a steel gantry built over the intersection housing traffic signals and directional signage.

Erected in December 1962, the Meccano Set is constructed of steel on concrete footings. At the time of construction, the main beams were fabricated from 12 to 16 flat metal plates, each up to 2.4 metres wide. These were rolled and welded together to shape the 32 metre long beams. Cross bars were welded inside the cylinders to ensure the strength of each beam. ²

Investigations in 2003 found it to be structurally safe, however later investigations showed peeling paint and rust, requiring action. ³

In 2019, designers used 3D survey technology to scan the intersection and create accurate drawings of the structure, which were used to pre-fabricate a new gantry. The 2019 fabrication process involved producing only three pipes for each 32 metre beam. Once completed, the newly produced beams and the support columns were trucked to the intersection and lifted into place, one beam at a time over four consecutive Saturday nights in May and June 2019. ²

The new structure of the Meccano Set consists of four beams assembled in rhombus shape. Each beam is 32 metres long and weighs five tonnes. The steel structure sits six metres above the road on four columns. The total weight of the new Meccano Set is about 25 tonnes. ²

1791: A track was cut between Sydney and Parramatta, which was used for official business only, not general travel. ⁴

January 1797: Governor Captain John Hunter orders the route be of the track between Sydney and Parramatta to be upgraded. ⁴

July 1797: Work begins to widen the track between Sydney and Parramatta to 20 feet wide. ⁴

August 1797: Completion of the widening of the track between Sydney and Parramatta. ⁴

10 May 1810: Tolling is introduced along the route between Sydney and Parramatta. The tolling was introduced to fund road upgrades. ⁴

June 1858: The Main Roads Management Act appoints Captain BH Martindale as the person responsible for the management of 3 main roads in the colony including the Great Western Road, from Sydney via Parramatta, Penrith, Hartley and Bathurst to Wellington. ⁴

1914: Sydney-Melbourne road (Great South Road) is declared a main road.

1928: Sections of Great South Road renamed to Hume Highway.

7 June 1926: A board meeting resolved to set aside funding from the Commonwealth's road funding scheme for road development to be used on some of NSW 'great trunk routes', which included the Great Western Road. ²

1939: Full completion of pavement along the Great Western Road. ⁴

1939: 95% (557 km) of the Hume Highway paved with a bituminous surface. ⁴

1950s: In 1952, a group of citizens met and formed a committee under Lt-General Sir Frank Berryman to create a national memorial to servicemen by using trees and shrubs as living memorials. The NSW Premier, J J Cahill, officially launched the scheme on 9 December 1953. The Remembrance Driveway project as it was called started on 5 February 1954, when trees were planted at either end of the Driveway at the War Memorial, Canberra, and in Macquarie Place, Sydney, by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. By June 1959, 10 000 trees had been planted. Since then, planting of trees in avenues or groves has continued. When the M5 Motorway replaced the Hume Highway (and also Camden Valley Way) south of Liverpool, it became the focus for planting trees and shrubs in remembrance. ⁵

1951: Upgrade of old timber Cabramatta Creek Bridge, also known as Ireland's Bridge, at Cabramatta, to then modern standards. Also planning for the F5 Freeway (South Western Fwy) commenced. ²

1956: Duplication of the Landsdowne Bridge at Carramar to carry southbound traffic. ⁴

1957: An additional carriageway for the highway was completed at Lansvale. ⁵

December 1962: A major project on traffic management was the completion of a set of overhead traffic signs and signals at Villawood where Woodville Road, Henry Lawson Drive and the Hume Highway met. Due to large traffic volumes at this intersection, it was selected as a suitable location to install the system. The site has become known over the years, as the "Meccano set". ⁵

2013: Decommissioning of State Route 31, replaced by A22.

14 January 2019: Work commenced on restoration of the "Meccano Set" traffic signals at the junction of Woodville Road, Henry Lawson Drive and Hume Highway. ⁶

2 June 2019: Completion of restoration of "Meccano Set" traffic signals at the junction of Woodville Road, Henry Lawson Drive and Hume Highway. The restoration was a complete replacement of the original aging structure installed 57 years prior. The public overwhelming supported restoration of the site, instead of the proposed replacement of the structure with regular free-standing signals. ⁷

Ultimo To Liverpool

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign on Parramatta Rd (A22) at Summer Hill approaching Liverpool Rd (Hume Hwy) (A22) and Parramatta Rd (unnumbered), December 2015.

Image © Paul Rands

Supplemental Advance Directional Sign:

Supplemental AD sign on Parramatta Rd (A22) at Summer Hill approaching Liverpool Rd (Hume Hwy) (A22) and Parramatta Rd (unnumbered), December 2015.

Image © Paul Rands

Liverpool Road & Parramatta Road:

ID sign on the corner of Parramatta Rd (A22), Liverpool Rd (Hume Hwy) (A22) and Parramatta Rd (unnumbered) at Summer Hill, December 2015.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign on Hume Hwy (A22) at Greenacre approaching Stacey St (A6), January 2017.

Image © Spenser Tan

Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign at the corner of Hume Hwy (A22) and Stacey St (A6) at Greenacre, January 2017.

Image © Spenser Tan

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign at Warwick Farm approaching Governor Macquarie Dr, January 2017.

Image © Spenser Tan

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign at Warwick Farm approaching Cumberland Hwy (A28), January 2017.

Image © Spenser Tan

Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign at the corner of Hume Hwy (A22) and Cumberland Hwy (A28), January 2017. Hume Hwy becomes A28 at this junction.

Image © Spenser Tan

Liverpool to Ultimo

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign at Warwick Farm approaching Homepride Av, January 2017.

Image © Spenser Tan

Reassurance Directional Sign:

Distance sign at Warwick Farm, January 2017.

Image © Spenser Tan

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign at Cabramatta approaching Cabramatta Rd, January 2017.

Image © Spenser Tan

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign on Cabramatta Rd at Cabramatta approaching Hume Hwy (A22), January 2017.

Image © Spenser Tan

Reassurance Directional Sign:

Distance sign at Bankstown, April 2011.

Image © Paul Rands

Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign at the corner of Hume Hwy (A22) and Stacey St (A6) at Yagoona, January 2017.

Image © Spenser Tan

NEW Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign on Hume Hwy (Liverpool Rd) (A22) approaching Frederick St and Milton St, Croydon, October 2023.

Image © Paul Rands

NEW Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign at the corner of Hume Hwy (Liverpool Rd) (A22) and Parramatta Rd (A22 and unnumbered), Haberfield, October 2023.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign on Parramatta Road (unnumbered) approaching the A22 section of Parramatta Rd and Liverpool Rd (A22) at Haberfield, July 2013.

Image © Paul Rands

Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign on Parramatta Road (unnumbered) at junction with the A22 section of Parramatta Rd and Liverpool Rd (A22) at Haberfield, July 2013.

Image © Paul Rands

Distance Sign:

Reassurance directional sign at Haberfield, July 2013.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign approaching Tebbutt St in Summer Hill, July 2013.

Image © Paul Rands

NEW Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign at the corner of Parramatta Rd (A22) and Tebbutt St, Summer Hill, October 2023.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign approaching Johnstone St, Stanmore, July 2013.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign approaching Pyrmont Bridge Rd in Camperdown, July 2013.

Image © Paul Rands

NEW Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign at the corner of Parramatta Rd (A22) and Pyrmont Bridge Rd, Camperdown, October 2023.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign approaching City Rd (A36) in Camperdown, July 2013.

Image © Paul Rands

City Road:

Corner of Parramatta Rd (A22), Broadway (A22) and City Rd (A36) in Camperdown, October 2023. Click or tap here for a photo of this location by SUPPLIER from DATE.

Image © Paul Rands