Western Highway (Victoria)

Western Highway Western Freeway Victoria
Coordinates	36°20′39″S 140°58′02″E / 36.344105°S 140.967104°E / -36.344105; 140.967104 (West end) 37°45′12″S 144°43′51″E / 37.753196°S 144.730886°E / -37.753196; 144.730886 (East end)
General information
Type	Highway
Length	419 km (260 mi)[3]
Gazetted	December 1913 (as Main Road)[1] July 1925 (as State Highway)[2]
Route number(s)	A8 (2013–present) (VIC/SA border–Buangor) M8 (2013–present) (Buangor–Derrimut)
Former route number	National Highway A8 (1997–2013) (VIC/SA border–Burrumbeet) National Highway M8 (1997–2013) (Burrumbeet–Derrimut) National Highway 8 (1974–1997) (VIC/SA border–Deer Park) National Route 8 (1955–1974) (VIC/SA border–Deer Park)
Major junctions
West end	Dukes Highway VIC/SA border
	Borung Highway Henty Highway Wimmera Highway Pyrenees Highway Sunraysia Highway Midland Highway Melton Highway Ballarat Road
East end	Western Ring Road Derrimut, Melbourne
Location(s)
Region	Grampians, Greater Melbourne[4]
Major settlements	Nhill, Dimboola, Horsham, Stawell, Ararat, Beaufort, Ballarat, Ballan, Bacchus Marsh, Melton, Rockbank, Caroline Springs
Highway system
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in Victoria
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Western Highway is a major arterial route in western Victoria with a length of approximately 258 kilometres (160 mi) of single carriageway, then 161 kilometres (100 mi) of dual carriageway known as Western Freeway, linking the western suburbs of Melbourne to the border with South Australia at Serviceton.^[5][6] It is the Victorian part of the principal route linking the Australian cities of Melbourne and Adelaide, and is a part of the National Highway network, designated routes A8 and M8. The western end continues into South Australia as Dukes Highway, the next section of the Melbourne–Adelaide National Highway.

Western Highway is the second-busiest national highway in Australia, in terms of freight movements, with over five million tonnes annually, and provides the link between the eastern seaboard and South Australia and Western Australia.