Length:

498 km (Holbrook to VIC Border: 77 km)

Termini:

Northern: Narellan Rd (Metroad 9 and SR69), Campbelltown

Southern: NSW-VIC Border, Albury

Miscellaneous:

Continued as M31 in Victoria

Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route:

Holbrook, Woomargama, Mullengandra, Table Top, Thurgoona, Lavington, North Albury and East Albury

Former: 31 31

General Information:

The Hume Highway is one of Australia's most vital highway links. Providing access between Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's 2 largest cities. The route consisted of 100% dual carriageway road, either rural expressway or motorway standard.

In NSW, the highway in one form or another started life as the Great South Road, linking Sydney with the southern highlands and eventually beyond. The highway was named in 1928 after Hamilton Hume (1797-1873), a famous explorer in the early 19th century who, in 1824, in conjunction with William Hovell first found an overland route between Sydney and the infant colonial outpost of Port Phillip, the original name of Melbourne.

National Highway 31 was the main freight and commuter route between Sydney and Melbourne and has gone through a massive amount of transformation over the past 30 or so years, with many towns being bypassed along its route as well and gradual upgrades to motorway standards. Since the 1960s, the road has either been duplicated, where alignments allow for it, and also large deviations have also been part of the upgrade process.

The route around the Mittagong area averages around 16 000 vehicles every day, in other sections the number drops off a little or closer to Sydney increases. ¹

The route forms the Remembrance Driveway which honours war veterans.

For decades in the Albury area, there has been plans for the bypassing of the city. The Hume Highway followed a maze of streets through the town, bringing large amounts of heavy vehicles with it. Eventually the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority chose to build a bypass through town as opposed to around it. The old route consists mostly of 4 lane urban arterial road, littered with traffic signals with businesses and homes directly accessing the route. The old NH31 alignment was duplexed by the Riverina Highway (NR58) from Guinea Street through to Hume Street, this section of Hume Highway is now known solely as the Riverina Highway.

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

Sections of Great South Road renamed to Hume Highway.

1930s: Raising of the wall of the Hume Dam on the Murray River forced the highway to be realigned north of Albury.

1939: 95% (557 km) of the Hume Highway paved with a bituminous surface. ²

1942: Construction of Ten Mile Creek Bridge at Holbrook. ³

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. ³

March 2007: Albury Bypass opens. The freeway was officially opened by Prime Minister John Howard at a community event on 4 March 2007. The freeway opened to traffic on 6 March 2007. ³ Work included creation of full diamond interchanges at Thurgoona Drive, Borella Road, Bridge Street and High Street (allowing entry exit from both directions), half diamond interchanges at Billy Hughes Bridge, Corrys Hill and Bandiana Link (allowing exit and from only one direction), bridges at both Fallon and North Streets over Sydney-Melbourne Railway line and the freeway, bridges over the Murray River, Flanagans Creek, Wodonga Creek, Oddies Creek and the railway line, pedestrian bridges at Dean Street, Albury Railway Station and Amatex Street and shared pedestrian/cycle paths along much of the route and extensive urban design features and landscaping along the freeway, including new parks in East Albury and South Albury.

2009: Hume Highway Duplication, Sturt Highway to Table Top completed. ⁴

February 2010: Work starts on the Woomargama Bypass. ⁵

April 2011: Work commenced on Holbrook Bypass. ⁵

7 August 2013: The $247 million Holbrook bypass opened to traffic. ⁶

2013: National Highway 31 decommissioned.

This page concentrates on the former alignment between Holbrook and VIC Border

Holbrook to Victorian Border

Black Intersection Directional Sign:

Remnant Black ID sign on Adelong Rd approaching the former Hume Hwy (NH31) (now Tumblong Rd and Sylvias Gap Rd) alignment at Tumblong, September 2025.

Image © Paul Rands

Fingerboard Assembly:

Remnant fingerboard at the corner of the former Hume Hwy (NH31) (now Woomargama Way) and Annandayle Rd, Woomargama, September 2025.

Image © Paul Rands

Fingerboard Assembly:

Remnant 1970s fingerboard at the corner of the former Hume Hwy (NH31) (now Woomargama Way) and Berry St, Woomargama, September 2025.

Image © Paul Rands

ID Sign:

Directional sign facing eastbound traffic on in Urana Road Lavington. July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

ID Sign:

Intersection directional sign facing traffic from Urana Road at Lavington, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Distance Sign:

Southbound sign indicating distances. July 2006 at Lavington.

Image © Rob Tilley

Advance Directional Sign:

AD Sign indicating through traffic to the Albury CBD and onto Melbourne, southbound at North Albury near Mate and North Streets, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

ID Sign:

Directional signage on the intersection with Mate Street, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Westbound on North Street:

Looking west between Mate and Young Streets. July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

AD Sign:

Westbound on North Street at North Albury as you approach the hard left with Young Street, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Young Street Intersection:

Looking west as the highway turns from North Street onto Young Street, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Distance Sign:

Southbound sign indicating distances. July 2006 at North Albury.

Image © Rob Tilley

Directional Sign:

Eastbound facing ID sign on the corner of Young and Dean Streets, Albury, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Advance Directional Sign:

Westbound sign gantry located on Hume Street Albury, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

ID Signage:

Sign assembly located on the corner of Hume Street and Wodonga Place (NR58) at Albury, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Advance Directional Sign:

Sign on the Riverina Highway (Wodonga Place) as you approach Hume Street, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign facing eastbound traffic from Hume Street Albury, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

New South Wales - Victoria Border:

Looking southwest from Wodonga Place at South Albury over the Murray River into Victoria, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Victorian Border to Holbrook

New South Wales - Victoria Border:

Looking northeast from the Lincoln Causeway at Wodonga over the Murray River into New South Wales, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Safe-T-Cam Sign:

Sign outside Oddies Creek Park, Albury, indicating the use of the Safe-T-Cam system for monitoring heavy vehicle movements within NSW, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Load Limit Restriction Sign:

Sign outside Oddies Creek Park in Albury indicating the permitted heavy vehicles on the Hume Highway. July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Black Directional Signage:

1970s AD sign approaching Ebden Street at Albury, outside Australia Park. Northbound, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Northbound AD Sign:

Directional sign on Wodonga Place, near Hovell Street, approaching the right turn continuation of the former Hume Highway and the junction with the Riverina Highway at Albury, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Northbound AD Sign:

Directional sign on Wodonga Place approaching the junction with the Riverina Highway at Albury, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Sign Assembly:

Signs on the corner of Wodonga Place and Hume Street in Albury, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Advance Directional Sign:

Northbound AD sign as you approach the Riverina Highway turn off. Young Street, Albury, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

AD Sign:

Advance directional sign, westbound on the Riverina Hwy (Guinea St) approaching Young Street, July 2006. Note the incorrect all caps text for the destinations.

Image © Rob Tilley

Directional Sign:

ID sign located on the junction Young St and Guinea St, Albury, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Intersection Directional Sign:

ID sign facing Riverina Hwy traffic, in all capital letters, instead of mixed case, on the corner of Young St and Guinea St, Albury, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Intersection Directional Sign:

Northbound ID assembly on the corner of Guinea and Young Streets in Albury, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

AD Sign:

Northbound on Young Street at Albury as you approach the right turn with North Street, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Black ID Sign:

Black directional sign from the 70s or 80s on the corner of North and Young Streets, Albury, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Looking East at North Albury:

Eastbound on North Street towards the bridge over main Sydney-Melbourne railway, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

AD Sign:

Eastbound advance directional sign as you approach the North and Mate Streets intersection at North Albury, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

ID Sign:

Directional signage on the intersection with Mate Street, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Distance Sign:

Northbound RD sign after the Mate Street intersection in North Albury, July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Northbound at Lavington:

Hume Highway as you approach both Union Road and Urana Road. July 2006.

Image © Rob Tilley

Intersection Directional Sign:

Old remnant ID sign at corner of former Hume Hwy (NH31) (now Wagga Rd) and Olympic Way (NR41) (now Gerogery Rd), Ettamogah, September 2025.

Image © Paul Rands