Kings Highway (Australia) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kings HighwayAustralian Capital Territory–New South Wales |
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| General information | |
| Type | Highway |
| Length | 141 km (88 mi) |
| Opened | 1974 |
| Route number(s) |
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| Former route number |
 National Route 52 (1974–2013) |
| Major junctions | |
| West end |  Monaro HighwaySymonston, Australian Capital Territory |
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| East end |  Princes HighwayBatemans Bay, New South Wales |
| Location(s) | |
| Major settlements | Bungendore, Braidwood, Nelligen |
| Highway system | |
| Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Road infrastructure in Canberra Highways in New South Wales |
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B52 The Kings Highway is a State highway located within the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales, Australia. The highway connects Canberra with Batemans Bay on the South Coast.
History
The road through the Clyde Mountain area was surveyed by Thomas Mitchell in 1855.
A punt service across the Clyde River was begun at Nelligen in 1895 linking Batemans Bay to Braidwood. The service continued until 1964 when the Nelligen bridge was completed .
In 2006 construction commenced on Headquarters Joint Operations Command in the Kowen district of the ACT between Bungendore and Queanbeyan. The facility opened in December 2008, and sections of the highway between the HQJOC turnoff and Queanbeyan have progressively been upgraded to cater for the increased traffic.
Road usage
In 2003, approximately 3,000 vehicles a day were using the highway at Nelligen. From Braidwood (at the Shoalhaven River Bridge) there were about 4,200 cars travelling on the road. Out of Bungendore near Burbong, 5,600 cars were counted each day.
Casualty crash rates on the Kings Highway are 85% higher than the NSW average and road fatalities are 8% higher. A 2005 NRMA Motoring and Services road survey found:
- The rate of people hospitalised after crashes on the Kings Highway is well over the national average. 877 crashes were recorded on Kings Highway over a 10-year period, an average of about one crash every four days. Over this time there have been 24 fatal crashes, 355 crashes resulting in injury and 488 crashes resulting in property damage. The rate was worse than this in 2004, when there were 103 crashes resulting in six fatalities and 53 injuries.
- Crashes on the Kings Highway have cost A$42.65 million over the past three years – that’s equivalent to nearly A$39,000 every day.
- Safety: particular concerns over Clyde Mountain, and only 5% of road deemed to provide "safe" overtaking opportunities. Two blackspots (one in Eurobodalla and one in Palerang) and sixteen blacklengths (nine in Eurobodalla, six in Palerang and one in Queanbeyan City) were identified. The 40 kilometres (25 mi) section of road over the Great Dividing Range – which includes Clyde Mountain – recorded the highest number of crashes, with 22% of all incidents occurring in this area.
- The most common type of crash – 18% of all incidents – was when a vehicle leaves the road to the left on a right hand bend and crashes into a stationary object. Head-on collisions made up one in 10 of all crashes. Crashes occurred most frequently on Sundays (20%) and least frequently on Tuesdays (9%).
Major intersections
| State/Territory | District/LGA | Location | km | mi | Destinations | Notes |
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| Australian Capital Territory | Canberra Central – Jerrabomberra boundary | Fyshwick – Narrabundah – Symonston tripoint | 0.0 | 0.0 |   Monaro Highway (B52 / Tourist Drive 5) south – Tuggeranong, Cooma
 Ipswich Street north-east – Canberra Airport |
Western terminus: continues as Canberra Avenue; only northbound exit from and southbound entrance to Monaro Highway |
| Fyshwick – Symonston boundary | 1.5 | 0.93 | Newcastle Street north-east / Hindmarsh Drive south-west – Fyshwick, Woden, Tuggeranong, Canberra Airport |
Traffic lights | ||
| Jerrabomberra | | 4.3 | 2.7 | Norse Road – Oaks Estate | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| New South Wales | Queanbeyan | Crestwood – Queanbeyan West boundary | 6.0 | 3.7 | Lanyon Drive – Cooma | Roundabout |
| Queanbeyan East | 8.9 | 5.5 | Yass Road north / Ellerton Drive south – North Canberra, Goulburn, Canberra Airport |
Roundabout | ||
| Palerang | Carwoola | 11.7 | 7.3 | Captains Flat Road – Captains Flat | Roundabout | |
| Bungendore | 32.4 | 20.1 | Tarago Road north – Tarago, Goulburn | T junction: Eastbound traffic turns east, westbound traffic turns south | ||
| Manar | 53.8 | 33.4 | Braidwood Road – Tarago, Goulburn | |||
| Braidwood | 79.6 | 49.5 | Nerriga Road – Nerriga, Nowra | |||
| Eurobodalla | North Batemans Bay | 139 | 86 | Princes Highway (A1) / Peninsula Drive east – Nowra, Sydney, Batemans Bay, Bega |
Eastern terminus at roundabout | |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||||
Gallery
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Warri Bridge, which crosses the Shoalhaven River near Braidwood.
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The Kings Highway at Braidwood.
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Horse teams carting goods from the ship at Nellingen to Braidwood, crossing Currajong Creek, about 1902.
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Climbing Clyde Mountain from the coast to Braidwood.
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Pooh's Corner.
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Kings Highway (formerly called Kings Way), National Route 52, links Canberrans to the coast.
Images for kids
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The Kings Highway at Braidwood.
