The highway serves as a gateway from Melbourne to many attractions including Wilsons Promontory and Phillip Island as well as being an important road for farmers in Gippsland.

It continues in an southeasterly direction through Nyora, Korumburra, Leongatha, Foster, Welshpool and Yarram, before heading north and eventually terminating at a roundabout with Princes Highway at Sale.

[8] In the 1965/66 financial year, the last section between Meeniyan and Foster was added,[11] completing its present-day alignment at this stage.

Conversion to dual carriageways at the western end began in 1975, initially between South Gippsland Freeway and Cranbourne; a distance of 17 km.

The contract was awarded in March 2020,[21] with construction starting in October 2020[22] on a new road bridge over the rail line on an alignment just east of the original level crossing to a new intersection with Princes Highway; construction was completed and the new alignment was opened to traffic in 3 August 2021.