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 Country Roads Board shield | |
| Statutory Authority overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 26 March 1913 |
| PrecedingStatutory Authority |
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| Dissolved | 30 June 1983 |
| SupersedingStatutory Authority | |
| Jurisdiction | Victoria, Australia |
| Headquarters | Kew, Victoria |
| Employees | 4,597 (June 1982) |
| Annual budget | $342 million (1981/82) |
| Minister responsible |
|
| Statutory Authority executives |
|
| Key document |
|
TheCountry Roads Board was a government authority responsible for the construction and maintenance ofmain roads in the state ofVictoria, Australia between 1913 and 1983.
The Country Roads Board (CRB) was formed to take over responsibility from the Board of Lands and Works for the care and management of the main roads of the state. Until then there was a lack of co-operation between the agencies with operational responsibility for roads, the Roads and Bridges Branch of the Public Works Department and local municipalities, in the construction and maintenance of main roads. Expenditure of state funds was without proper supervision or a thorough investigation into actual needs. The absence of a systematic policy, as well as a lack of funds, had resulted in Victorian roads being in a deplorable condition.[citation needed] At this time the use of the motor car accentuated the demands for better roads.[1]
As a result of these needs theCountry Roads Act 1912 (No.2415) was proclaimed in 1913 establishing the Country Roads Board as a central road authority with responsibility for those roads within the State considered to be main roads.[citation needed]
The initial functions of the Board, set out in the 1912 Act, were:
After an initial investigation by the Board, construction guidelines were established and the letting of construction contracts, either directly by the Board or by municipal councils, proceeded by about 1915.
The responsibilities of the CRB expanded over time. Responsibility for major roads inMelbourne was shared with theMelbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works, until all road responsibilities were passed to the CRB on 1 July 1974.[2][3]
At various times other types of roads were proclaimed under legislation and subsequently came within the responsibility of the Country Roads Board. TheDevelopment Roads Act 1918 provided for the declaration of 'Developmental Roads', roads which would serve to develop any area of land by providing access to a railway station for primary producers. TheHighways and Vehicles Act 1924 provided for the declaration of certain arterial roads as State Highways. TheTourists' Roads Act 1936 provided for the declaration of roads of sufficient interest or roads leading to tourist resorts or attractions as Tourists' Roads. TheCountry Roads Act 1956 enabled the Board to construct by-pass roads which became popularly known as freeways. At the time of its cessation, the CRB was responsible for 23,763 kilometres of road.[4]
The first chairman of CRB wasWilliam Calder who remained in charge until his death in 1928.
Another prominent chairman wasDonald Victor Darwin who took over in 1949, and steered the board through a massive post-war expansion program.
The CRB was abolished and succeeded by theRoad Construction Authority on 1 July 1983 by operation of theTransport Act 1983.[5] This step occurred as part of a suite of major institutional changes in the Victorian transport portfolio affecting roads, trains and trams and related matters.
The Road Construction Authority was later merged with the Road Traffic Authority on 1 July 1989 to form the Roads Corporation.[6] The Roads Corporation is still in place today and trades asVicRoads.[7]
In November 1966, the CRB launchedCRB News as itsin house magazine.[8][9]
