Officially named Burley Griffin Way in 1996 Main Road 84 (MR84) and retains this declaration. It was named State Route 94 in 1974 but known as B94 from 2013.
Burley Griffin Way is a two-lane road that provides an important link for the northern and western Riverina connecting Griffith to Yass and Sydney via the Hume Highway.
Several accidents have occurred on the stretch of road between Binalong and Wallendbeen in recent times. Improvements have been made but one spot remains a problem. The William Bradford Bridge on B94 is just west of Harden (about 7 km) is in need of widening or replacing to prevent accidents and save lives. Recent improvements with safety features added to the bridge have narrowed it further. The bridge has a steep approach, especially from the west and is daunting for drivers especially with heavy vehicles approaching in the opposite direction.
Member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke delivered at speech in the New South Wales Parliament in September regarding rural road safety. She spoke about the William Bradford Bridge over Demondrille Creek and accidents that have occurred on that dangerous stretch of road along the Burley Griffin Way. She remarked that the fundamental issue is that the bridge is dangerously narrow for the heavy vehicle traffic it supports and accidents at the site can close the vital arterial road for hours.
The major push behind continuing upgrades to the Burley Griffin Way is the high volume of freight movements between the Griffith area and the ports at Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong. State Route 94 is an east-west route connecting the Hume Highway with Olympic Highway, Temora, the Newell Highway and Griffith. It also serves as the major route from Sydney to the Griffith area.
The length of State Route 94, except for the duplex with National Highway 39 (Newell Highway) is 278 km and known as “Burley Griffin Way.” It was named such as it connects the two cities in southern New South Wales (Canberra and Griffith), designed by the legendary American architect Walter Burley Griffin.
Griffin’s winning design for ‘the finest capital city in the world’ was announced in 1912.
He came to Canberra in 1913 with his plans and was appointed a Federal Capital Director of Design and Construction in order to supervise the detailed planning of his modern city. Lack of money, the First World War and bureaucratic obstacles made it difficult to realise his plan. Many of his avenues and parks were laid out on the ground at the time but there are no buildings in Canberra designed by Griffin.
In 1924 the government gazetted the Griffin Plan for Canberra so that no changes could be made without approval of the Commonwealth Parliament. (National Capital Authority).
The easternmost 2km of State Route 94, through Bowning, was part of the Hume Highway (State Highway No. 2) until August 1973 when a four-lane deviation around Bowning was opened to traffic.
This section remained in its 1970s condition and there were calls for it either to be upgraded or for the Burley Griffin Way to be relocated around the township, most likely joining the Hume Highway on the western side of Bowning. (ozroads.com.au)
In 2007, a bypass was constructed west of Bowning, and Burley Griffin Way was re-aligned along this road to a new at-grade intersection with Hume Highway. This bypass intersection has potential for accidents due to it being covered with thick fog in the winter and traffic cross the highspeed dual carriageways of the Hume Highway. (Transport NSW).
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