Metropolitan Route 34

Maroondah Hwy

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Maroondah Highway looking east at Mitcham.
January 2007.

Designated Names (as of 2008) Name List - Column 1 & 2 Road Classification Column 3	Swanston Street	Cemetery Road East, Carlton - Elgin Street, Carlton	Municipal Road
	Elgin Street	Swanston Street, Carlton - Nicholson Street, Fitzroy	Municipal Road
	Johnson Street	Nicholson Street, Fitzroy - Johnston Street Bridge, Abbotsford	Arterial #5853
	Johnson Street Bridge	Johnston Street, Abbotsford - Studley Park Road, Kew	Arterial #5854
	Studley Park Road	Johnston Street Bridge, Kew - Princess Street, Kew	Arterial #5855
	High Street	Princess Street, Kew - Cotham Road, Kew	Arterial #5721
	Cotham Road	High Street, Kew - Burke Road, Balwyn	Arterial #5926
	Whitehorse Road	Burke Road, Balwyn - Union Road, Surrey Hills	Arterial #5996
	Maroondah Highway	Union Road, Surrey Hills - Anderson Street, Lilydale	Arterial #6720
	Whitehorse Road	Union Road, Surrey Hills - Yarra Road, Croydon	Local name for M'dah Hwy
Distance in Kilometres	38.1
Western Terminus	Cemetery Road East, Carlton
Eastern Terminus	Lilydale - Montrose Road (Anderson Street), Lilydale
Year of Introduction When the Route was first introduced	1965
Duplexes shared routes - column 1 Location of Duplex column 2 Length of Duplex in kilometres - column 3	Tourist Route 2	Walmer Street, Kew - High Street, Kew	1.6
	Metropolitan Route 36	High Street, Kew - Cotham Road, Kew	0.2
	Metropolitan Route 13	Chapel Street, Blackburn - Surrey Road, Blackburn	0.2
	Metropolitan Route 9	Wantirna Road, Ringwood - Ringwood - Warrandyte Road, Ringwood	0.2
	Metropolitan Route 7	Kent Avenue, Croydon - Yarra Road, Croydon Hills	0.2

Sections:

Introduction
Snapshot: Route Numbering
Events
Interactive Maps
Photos
Further Reading

Metropolitan Route 34 forms as a major east west arterial through Melbourne's eastern suburbs. Introduced in 1965, MR34 today spans between Carlton and Lilydale, a far cry from its former length prior to 1998. MR34 traverses its way east along shopping strips of the inner suburbs with trams lines, before attaching itself to the Maroondah Highway east of Surrey Hills, a major highway originally built as a route to Gippsland. The major activity centres of Box Hill and Ringwood both lie on the path of MR34.

The establishment of both Johnston Street and Cotham Road occurred during the early 1840's gave rise to the need for another crossing of the Yarra River, this becoming apparent in 1855 ^[2]. The construction of the Johnston Street bridge in 1858 ^[2] provided property owners in the vicinity of Kew and beyond a crossing at a favourable location, providing another access to the city. A cable pulled tram operated along Johnston St from 1888 to 1939 ^[2].

At the same time, Whitehorse Road was slowly being developed as a serious route through to Gippsland. Today's Maroondah Highway started life as a grazer's track to properties from Kew to as far as Box Hill by 1860's and was known as 'Barkers Track'. It was declared as a Main Road in 1865 and named Whitehorse Road ^[1] . The reservation for the Maroondah Highway was first surveyed by William Hull for the Victorian government in 1854 ^[1], with construction of a proper road east from Ringwood in the late 1860's. Like with most roads in early Melbourne, 'Gippsland Road' or 'Whitehorse Road' as it was know at the time was tolled in two places as of 1874 - at Kew and at Brushy Creek ^[1]. The name once again changed to 'Healesville Road' through Box Hill, and as 'Main Healesville Road' east of Box Hill in 1913 ^[1]. It appears that these two names may have been declared names established by the Country Roads Board, with 'Whitehorse Road' as the local name, though it remains unclear.

Sealing of the road to Lilydale started in 1925, with numerous sections receiving a spray and chip treatment, with the route completely sealed within ten years. In 1948, the portion east of Union Road in Surrey Hills was official proclaimed as a State Highway and named Maroondah Highway ^[3]. The Maroondah Highway was continuously duplicated between 1961 and 1983, starting at Middleborough Road and finishing at Warburton Highway ^[1].

Snapshot - Route Numbering

When the route was introduced in 1965, Metropolitan Route 34's western terminus was located at the intersection of Gatehouse Street and Flemington Road, then traveling east along Gatehouse Street, Cemetery Road West and College Crescent to meet today's starting point at Swanston Street. The route was truncated at Cemetery Road East / Swanston Street intersection in 1989 as part of the shakeup of the Metropolitan Route Numbering System.

On the flipside, the eastern terminus of MR34 since 1965 at Lilydale - Montrose Road (Anderson Street) was extended in 1986 to Alexandra via the Maroondah Highway, a distance of 89 km from Lilydale. In 1998, the original 1965 terminus was reinstated when routes B300 and B360 replaced State (Metropolitan) Route 34 as part of the Statewide Route Numbering Scheme east of Lilydale - Montrose Road.

This would have made Metropolitan Route 34 Victoria's longest double-digit state route prior to 1998 (127 km), and slightly longer between 1986 and 1989 (128 km), considering the western end was not truncated until 1989.

Events ^[1] ^[2]

1842	Johnston Street established.
1840's	Cotham Road reservation established.
1853	Route reservation east to Dorking Road (Box Hill) established.
1853	Victorian Government offers £300 reward for an establishment of a road to 'Gippsland.'
1854	William Hull establishes track in which Maroondah Highway today now follows.
1858	Johnston Street laminated timber bridge built over the Yarra River.
1865	Route east from around Box Hill gazetted as Whitehorse Road, declared as a Main Road.
1867	Road constructed from Ringwood to Birts Hill, Croydon.
1874	Toll gates at Kew and Brushy Creek Bridge.
1876	Johnston Street bridge upgraded to iron with three spans.
1888	Cable trams in operation along Johnson Street (until 1939).
1913	Healesville Road name applied from Union Road to Box Hill.
1913	Main Healesville Road name applied for route east of Box Hill.
1925	Country Roads Board spray seals road through Nunawading.
1926	Spray and Chip seal between Birts Hill (Yarra Road) and Lilydale.
1926	Spray and Chip seal for three kilometres east of Ringwood
1936	Concrete pavement for one kilometre in Box Hill.
1937	Realignment of kink near Middleborough Road.
1938	Reconstruction of three kilometres through Blackburn, widened to 9 metres.
1948	Maroondah Highway name established east of Union Road, (re)declared as a State Highway.
1960	Johnston Street declared as a Main Road.
1961	Duplication from Middleborough Road to Surrey Road.
1962	Duplication from Surrey Road to Springvale Road.
1963	Duplication from Box Hill Town Hall to Middleborough Road.
1964	Duplication works through Ringwood completed.
1964	Duplication from Springvale Road to Heatherdale Road.
1965	Metropolitan Route 34 introduced.
1968	Duplication from Ringwood to Stirling Road, Croydon.
1970	Duplication from Stirling Road to Brushy Creek.
1971	Duplication from Brushy Creek to Lilydale.
1983	Duplication from Lilydale to Warburton Highway.
1986	Metropolitan Route 34 extended to Alexandra.
1989	Metropolitan Route 34 truncated in Carlton.
1990	Cotham Road proclaimed as a Main Road.
1993	Whitehorse Road between Burke Road and Union Road declared as a Main Road.
1998	Metropolitan Route 34 east of Lilydale - Montrose Road replaced by routes B300 and B360.
2004	Road Management Act 2004 reclassifies Maroondah Highway's State Highway classification to Arterial. All Main Road classifications merge into new Arterial classification.
2006	Construction of overpass over Eastlink (M3) at Ringwood.

Interactive Maps

Kew Junction (TD2 / MR21 / MR34 / MR36)

Photos

Further Reading

B300
B360 Maroondah Highway
Decommissioned State Route 34

[1] Lay, M.; Melbourne Miles: The Story of Melbourne’s Roads; 2003; pg 135 - 140.
[2] Lay, M.; Melbourne Miles: The Story of Melbourne’s Roads; 2003; pg 123 - 124.
[3] Victorian Government Gazette; 1948; pg .