Waterfall Way | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Newell Falls, Waterfall Way, Dorrigo National Park | |
  East end West end | |
| Coordinates | |
| General information | |
| Type | Rural road |
| Length | 169.8 km (106 mi)[3] |
| Gazetted | August 1928(as Main Roads 119 and 120)[1] March 1938(as Trunk Road 76)[2] |
| Route number(s) |  B78(2013–present) |
| Former route number |  State Route 78(1974–2013) |
| Tourist routes |  Tourist Route 17(Ebor–Armidale) |
| Major junctions | |
| East end | Giinagay Way Raleigh, New South Wales |
| |
| West end |  New England HighwayArmidale, New South Wales |
| Location(s) | |
| Major settlements | Bellingen,Dorrigo,Ebor |
Waterfall Way is a 170-kilometre (110 mi)[3] country road in theNorthern Tablelands region ofNew South Wales, Australia, linkingRaleigh on the state'sNorth Coast toArmidale. The route passes through some of New South Wales' most scenic countryside and has become well known as its best and Australia's third most beautiful tourist drive.[4][5] Seven national parks, of which three are listed asWorld Heritage Areas by UNESCO and form part of theGondwana Rainforests of Australia (formerly the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves), are located on or close to the route.Dorrigo National Park encompasses the waterfalls that give the route its name.
In addition to being a tourist route, the Waterfall Way is also an important link between coastal and inland New South Wales (specifically the population centres of Armidale andCoffs Harbour), and is therefore heavily trafficked.
Starting just beyond the interchange with Pacific Highway atRaleigh, midway betweenUrunga andCoffs Harbour, it follows the south bank of theBellinger River, passing throughBellingen. After crossing the Bellinger River the road swings north and climbs theescarpment of theGreat Dividing Range, skirting the southern edge of theDorrigo world heritage rainforest and crossing the Newell and Sherrard waterfalls for which the route is named. Single lane traffic restrictions do not permit stopping at these falls, but the Newell Falls may be viewed at a rest area below the fall. At the top of the escarpment (elevation 750 m (2,460 ft)) a short detour south leads to Griffith's Lookout with views over theBellinger River National Park and valley.
A short way further on is the turnoff to the visitor centre at the World Heritage Area,Dorrigo National Park, known for its skywalk and walking tracks. The pretty and readily accessible Dangar Falls are located 2.4 km (1.5 mi) north of the centre of Dorrigo on the Bielsdown River. Proceeding through the town ofDorrigo, the road continues through the pastoral upland of theDorrigo Plateau before crossing the headwaters of theNymboida River. TheBicentennial National Trail shares the route prior to reachingEbor. About nine kilometres after turning left onto the Armidale Grafton road Ebor is passed. This village is close to theGuy Fawkes River National Park andEbor Falls.[6]
Between Ebor andWollomombi the route passes through the 8,839 ha (21,840 acres)Cathedral Rock National Park. The National Heritage listed YooroonahTank Barrier is approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) southwest of Ebor and near the route.[7] After leaving Ebor the road passes an intersection, from where the Dutton Trout Hatchery, andPoint Lookout are accessed about 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Waterfall Way in theNew England National Park. Further on, theWollomombi Falls are about 1 km (0.6 mi) south of the Waterfall Way. The 145,000 ha (360,000-acre)World Heritage listedOxley Wild Rivers National Park is readily accessible from the Wollomombi Falls.[8] From here the road passes 5 km (3.1 mi) north of the historical mining village ofHillgrove and the viewing platforms at Bakers Creek Falls and the Metz Gorge. There are also other more remote, interesting sites to visit on this Way toArmidale. The Gara Gorge is 18 km (11 mi) south-east of Armidale along the Castledoyle Road leading off the Waterfall Way just east of Armidale.
The road is sealed but relatively narrow and has a steep 14 km (9 mi) winding section. In recent years storms and associatedflash flooding have washed away sections of the roadway where it rises to the ranges, leading to traffic being limited to one lane at the waterfalls on the Dorrigo Range.
The passing of theMain Roads Act of 1924[9] through theParliament of New South Wales provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (later theDepartment of Main Roads, and eventuallyTransport for NSW). Main Road No. 119 was declared from the intersection with North Coast Highway, todayGiinagay Way, at Raleigh via Bellingen to Dorrigo (and continuing northwards to Tyringham),[1] Main Road No. 120 was declared from Dorrigo to Jock's Water south of Hernani (and continuing eastwards to Coramba),[1] and Main Road No. 121 was declared from Jock's Water via Wollomombi to Armidale (and continuing northwards via Tyringham and Nymboida to the intersection with North Coast Highway, todayBig River Way, at South Grafton)[1] on the same day, 8 August 1928.
TheDepartment of Main Roads, which had succeeded the MRB in 1932, declared Trunk Road 74 along this road, from Jock's Water via Wollomombi to Armidale (and continuing northwards via Tyringham and Nymboida to the intersection with Pacific Highway, todayBig River Way, at South Grafton), subsuming Main Road 121,[10] and Trunk Road 76, from the intersection withPacific Highway at Raleigh via Bellingen and Dorrigo to the intersection with Trunk Road 74 near Jock's Water; the eastern end of Main Road 119 and western end of Main Road 120 were truncated to meet Trunk Road 76 at Dorrigo,[2] on the same day, 16 March 1938.
The passing of theRoads Act of 1993[11] through theParliament of New South Wales updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Main Road 76 (formerly Trunk Road 76) was extended west on 2 February 1996 to end at the intersection with New England Highway in Armidale: the western end of Main Road 74 (formerly Trunk Road 74) was truncated to meet Main Road 76 at Jock's Water.[12] The road today, as Main Road 76, still retains this declaration.[13]
Waterfall Way was later signed State Route 78 in 1974. With the conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 2013, this was replaced with route B78.[14]
This table does not show any bridges (seeMajor stream crossings below)
| LGA | Location | km[3] | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellingen | Raleigh | 0.0 | 0.0 | Giinagay Way – Valla | Eastern terminus of Waterfall Way and route B78 |
| 0.2 | 0.12 |  Pacific Highway (A1) – Coffs Harbour,Newcastle,Sydney | Parclo interchange | ||
| Dorrigo | 41.1 | 25.5 | Tyringham Road – Bostobrick | ||
| Clarence Valley | Hernani | 77.7 | 48.3 | Armidale Road – Tyringham,South Grafton | |
| Armidale | Ebor | 90.8 | 56.4 | Guyra Road – Guyra | |
| Armidale | 165.0 | 102.5 | Barney Street (west) – Armidale Dangar Street (north) – Armidale | Roundabout | |
| 166.1 | 103.2 | O'Connor Road (southwest) – Armidale Memorial Avenue (southeast) – Armidale | Roundabout | ||
| 169.8 | 105.5 |  New England Highway (A15) – Tamworth,Glen Innes,Tenterfield,Armidale Airport | Western terminus of Waterfall Way and route B78 Entrance toArmidale Airport 250m away | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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The accompanying diagram shows the crossings of all major streams by the Waterfall Way.
Waterfall Way major stream crossings From West to East | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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