Length:

33 km

Termini:

Northern: Hume Mwy (M31), Aylmerton

Southern: Hume Hwy (M31) and Canyonleigh Rd (unnumbered) (Hoddles Crossroads), Sutton Forest

Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route:

Sutton Forest, Moss Vale, Burradoo, Bowral, Mittagong, Braemar and Aylmerton

Current: 14

Multiplexed with: A48 B73

Former: 31 31 79 89

Road Authority Internal Classification: ¹

HW25 (Sutton Forest to Moss Vale)

MR260 (Aylmerton to Moss Vale)

General Information:

Tourist Drive 14 is a route in the New South Wales Southern Highlands. The route is a mix of single 2-lane carriageway or 4-lane single carriageway. The route between Mittagong and Aylmerton used to be part of the main route between Sydney and Melbourne, both Great South Road and Hume Highway, and the section between Bowral and Sutton Forest was once part of the Great South Road.

Parts of the route, in one form or another, started life as the Great South Road, linking Sydney with the southern highlands and eventually beyond. in 1928, the route was named Hume Highway 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.

The route passes through several historically significant towns including Bowral, where Australian cricketing legend Donald Bradman spent most of his time growing up. The town is also home to Corbett Gardens, where an annual tulip festival is held.

A48, for 14 km, between Sutton Forest and Moss Vale.

B73, for 11 km from between Bowral and Aylmerton.

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

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

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

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

1954: The Hume Highway was numbered National Route 31 as part the introduction of the National Route numbering scheme. ⁴

1959: An experiment using advisory speed signs on curves on what is now the Old Hume Highway (and Remembrance Drive) between Camden and Berrima was successful and was extended to other roads.

1974: The Hume Highway number changed to National Highway 31 as the result of the implementation of the federal government' National Highway funding scheme. ⁴

1980s: The railway level crossing at Mittagong bypassed with an overpass.

1992: Mittagong Bypass opens to traffic and the old route becomes Old Hume Highway and renumbered to State Route 89 between Mittagong and Aylmerton.

March 2013: A48 route number introduced, replacing National Route 48, and B73 route number introduced, replacing State Route 79 and State Route 89.

May 2018: Repairs carried out to the bridge, guard rails and embankments at the Hume Hwy (Hoddles Crossroads) interchange. ⁵

Sutton Forest to Aylmerton

Reassurance Directional Sign:

Distance sign at Moss Vale as the route crosses Bong Bong Hill, October 2016.

Image © Paul Rands

Wingecarribee River:

Illawarra Hwy (A48 / TD14) crossing Wingecarribee River via Bong Bong Bridge, January 2016.

Image © Paul Rands

Chisholm Hill:

Moss Vale Rd (TD14) as it climbs Chisholm Hill at Burradoo, January 2016.

Image © Paul Rands

Advance Directional Sign:

AD sign on Moss Vale Rd (TD14) approaching Kangaloon Rd (B73 / TD15), Funston St (B73 / TD 14) and Moss Vale Rd (unnumbered), Bowral, January 2016. TD14 turns left at this location and also picks up the B73 duplex here as well.

Image © Paul Rands