# Federal Highway (Australia)

The Federal Highway is a highway in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It is a part of a motorway-standard link between Sydney and Canberra, and is also the main thoroughfare between those cities.
The north-eastern end of the Federal Highway is located at its junction with Hume Highway near the rural city of Goulburn. It runs 72.7 km (45.2 mi) southwest to Canberra, the national capital of Australia, where its southwestern end is located at the intersection of Northbourne Avenue and Barton Highway. The Federal Highway passes the villages of Wollogorang, Collector and Sutton, as well as skirting the western side of the endorheic basin containing Lake George.

## Route

Federal Highway is a motorway-standard roadway linking from the interchange with Hume Highway at Yarra, southeast of Goulburn, to Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory. The roadway has a continuous 110 km/h (68 mph) speed limit within New South Wales northbound. A southbound section between the Great Dividing Range, south of Yarra, and Rowes Lagoon, north of Collector, is on an old and winding alignment and has a speed limit of 100k/h with many lower advisory speed signs. Within the Australian Capital Territory the posted speed limit is 100 km/h (62 mph) between the State-border and Antill Street, 80 km/h (50 mph) between Antil Street and Flemington Road, and 70 km/h (43 mph) between Flemington Road and the end of the road at Barton Highway (where the road runs parallel with the Canberra Metro light rail route). The entire length of the roadway is dual carriageway with 2 lanes in each direction.

## History

In New South Wales, the passing of the Main Roads Act of 1924 through the Parliament of New South Wales provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (MRB). The New South Wales section of Federal Highway was declared (as Main Road No. 3) on 8 August 1928, from its interchange with Hume Highway in Yarra, via Collector and Geary's Gap, to the interstate border; with the passing of the Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929 to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, this was amended to State Highway 3 on 8 April 1929. Construction had already been completed and traffic was already using the portion of the highway within New South Wales by December 1930.
In the Federal Capital Territory, the local Sydney-Canberra Road was officially declared part of Federal Highway in September 1928. Surveying and levelling had finished and work had started in April 1929 to connect to the NSW portion of the road, with the contract awarded to John Fowler (Aust) Ltd, to construct a 6-mile section of highway from Canberra (today Lyneham) to the interstate boundary. Approaching completion by February 1930, it was officially completed and opened on 25 February 1931.
The passing of the Roads Act of 1993 through the Parliament of New South Wales updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Federal Highway today retains its declaration as Highway 3, from Yarra to the interstate border with the ACT.
Federal Highway was allocated National Route 23 across its entire length in 1955. The Whitlam government introduced the federal National Roads Act 1974, where roads declared as a National Highway were still the responsibility of the states for road construction and maintenance, but were fully compensated by the Federal government for money spent on approved projects.$^{:S7}$ As an important interstate link between the capitals of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, the Federal Highway was declared a National Highway in 1974 and was consequently re-allocated National Highway 23. With the conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 2013, this was replaced with route M23 across the New South Wales' section, and route A23 across the Australian Capital Territory's section; an eastern portion was upgraded to route M23 when Majura Parkway opened in 2016.

## Junction list

| State | LGA / District | Location | km | mi | Destinations | Notes |
| New South Wales | Goulburn Mulwaree | Yarra | 0.0 | 0.0 | Hume Highway (M31) – Sydney, Goulburn, Albury, Melbourne | Partial Y-interchange, no southwestern entrance eastbound Northeastern terminus of highway and route M23 |
| New South Wales | Goulburn Mulwaree | Yarra | 2.9 | 1.8 | Thornford Road – Currawang | Modified uncontrolled T-intersection (due to wide median strip at this location) |
| New South Wales | Goulburn Mulwaree | Wollogorang | 8.8 | 5.5 | Wollogorang Road – Breadalbane | Modified uncontrolled T-intersection (due to wide median strip at this location) |
| New South Wales | Upper Lachlan | Collector | 21.6 | 13.4 | Church Street – Collector | Uncontrolled T-intersection |
| New South Wales | Upper Lachlan | Collector | 22.1 | 13.7 | Collector Road – Currawang, Tarago | Uncontrolled T-intersection |
| New South Wales | Upper Lachlan | Collector | 23.7 | 14.7 | Collector Road – Collector, Gunning | Uncontrolled T-intersection |
| New South Wales | Queanbeyan–Palerang– Yass Valley boundary | Bywong | 50.2 | 31.2 | Shingle Hill Way – Gundaroo | Uncontrolled T-intersection |
| New South Wales | Queanbeyan–Palerang– Yass Valley boundary | Bywong | 50.7 | 31.5 | Bungendore Road – Bungendore | Uncontrolled T-intersection |
| New South Wales | Queanbeyan–Palerang– Yass Valley boundary | Sutton | 58.3 | 36.2 | Macs Reef Road – Bungendore | Uncontrolled T-intersection |
| New South Wales | Queanbeyan–Palerang– Yass Valley boundary | Sutton | 59.2 | 36.8 | Sutton Road – Gunning, Gundaroo, Sutton, Queanbeyan | Parclo A2 interchange |
| New South Wales | Queanbeyan–Palerang– Yass Valley boundary | Sutton | | | Mckeahnie Lane | Diamond interchange |
| State border | State border | State border | 65.4 | 40.6 | New South Wales – Australian Capital Territory state border | New South Wales – Australian Capital Territory state border |
| Australian Capital Territory | Gungahlin–Majura boundary | ​ | 67.2 | 41.8 | Majura Parkway (M23 south) – Fyshwick, Canberra Airport Horse Park Drive (north) – Gungahlin | Diamond interchange with single cloverleaf onramp Northeastern terminus of route A23, route M23 continues south along Majura Parkway |
| Australian Capital Territory | Gungahlin–Majura boundary | Watson | 69.6 | 43.2 | Antill Street – Watson, Hackett | Roundabout |
| Australian Capital Territory | Canberra Central | Watson–Lyneham boundary | 71.6 | 44.5 | Flemington Road – Lyneham, Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC) | Signal controlled T-intersection, light rail has signal priority |
| Australian Capital Territory | Canberra Central | Watson–Lyneham–Downer tripoint | 71.9 | 44.7 | Phillip Avenue – Downer, Hackett | Signal controlled crossroads, light rail has signal priority |
| Australian Capital Territory | Canberra Central | Lyneham–Downer boundary | 72.7 | 45.2 | Barton Highway (A25 northwest) – Hall, Yass Northbourne Avenue (A23 south) – City, Queanbeyan, Cooma | Signal controlled T-intersection, light rail has signal priority. Southwestern terminus of highway, route A23 continues south along Northbourne Avenue |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Incomplete access Route transition |||||||