Victoria Roads - SR 83

SR 83


All photos are eastbound except for one toward the end that I'll call out.


First distance signs heading east from the south end of M80, featuring a strange shield font. At least the western section of SR 83 was originally part of A1 into downtown Melbourne before it was bypassed by M1.


Reverend Joseph Goble, former pastor of Footscray, blesses traffic on both sides.


SR 8 was formerly NH 8, which mostly became A8 (this part was bypassed by M8), which makes this sign old enough to feature two former National Highways patched over (NH 8 lasted until after 2007.) It's also wrong, because SR 8 now ends here, whereas NH 8 continued into the city. The Victory Statue (Citizens' War Memorial) stands in Footscray Park on the northeast corner of the intersection. Footscray sure loves their monuments.


More weird shield font, then looking over to the WB Maribyrnong River bridge that used to carry both directions of traffic in 4 lanes.


Whoa. There is a lot going on here. Bridges on top of bridges on top of bridges. The top layer is the new M2 Citylink, a tolled freeway link to the northwest that connects to the M1 Citylink to the southeast. Without tolls, you wouldn't have cool freeways 30 metres in the air. Coming down from there is the Upfield Line railway bridge, and then neglected at the bottom of the pile is SR 83's own bridge over Moonee Ponds Creek. The road has been widened since the early days when bridges were designed with architecture, so only the WB side looks interesting.


The Burke and Wills Memorial Cairn is on the WB side of SR 83 in Royal Park. Those two men led an expedition of European settlers through the Aboriginal interior (not the desert, mind you, but well behind the Great Dividing Range) to the northerly Gulf of Carpentaria and halfway back. Okay, they didn't actually reach the gulf, and then the majority of the crew they had left behind at Cooper's Creek abandoned the depot with all the supplies. With nowhere to stop and resupply, Burke, Wills, and the two unfortunate men they chose to continue north with them all perished, and this nice stone cairn was built instead. With SR 83 down to only one lane in each direction through the park, you will probably have plenty of time while stuck in traffic to take a photo this clear yourself.


Here's the one WB photo on the page, on Alexandra Parade.


SR 83 does not go to any of these places. Zero. M3, the eastern continuation of SR 83, at least gets to Doncaster, but the last two destinations require turning off from even that road, not to mention that its Eastlink connection is newer than this sign. So the entire sign should be in parentheses.


Speaking of M3, here's M3. OD3 is a designated oversize vehicle detour that just happens to follow a like-numbered highway. But please, riddle me this: If SR 29 is left and M3 is right, which one is straight ahead?

Onto SR 46
Onto M3
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