Main Road 162 was officially named
Mona Vale Road, between Pittwater Road in
Mona Vale and Pacific Highway
Pymble, on 10 January 1951, and
Ryde Road, between Pacific Highway and
De Burghs Bridge in
West Pymble (previously known as The Broadway), on 27 February 1952. Main Road 315 was officially named
King Georges Road, between Punchbowl Road in
Lakemba and Princes Highway in Blakehurst (previously known as Wiley Avenue, Canary Road, Dumbleton Road and Belmore Road), on 24 September 1952, and Main Road 200 was officially named
Church Street, between Devlin Street in
Ryde and
Ryde Bridge, on 6 May 1953. Ryde Council later constructed a new alignment from Quarry Road to Bridge Road through Ryde, changing from Wicks and Pittwater Roads to today's Lane Cove Road in September 1961. The southern end of Main Road 315 between Hurstville and Blakehurst was realigned to follow the entire length of King Georges Road (and terminate at Princes Highway some distance south of its previous termination at Woniora Road) on 11 November 1964 following reconstruction between Woniora and Greenacre Roads. What is now called A3 was initially designated to become a major north–south metropolitan arterial route in 1964, when the route incorporating the existing local arterial roads above was designated Ring Road 3. After 1964, upgrading projects were commenced, with the construction of new
De Burghs Bridges over the Lane Cove River between Pymble and Ryde (1967). A grade-separated crossing was constructed at Epping Road at
North Ryde (1978). the southern end of the designated Main Road 200 route was altered, from its earlier alignment along Concord Road between Ryde Bridge and Strathfield, to Homebush Bay Drive, Centenary Drive, Roberts Road, Wiley Avenue and King Georges Road, to terminate at the Princes Highway at Blakehurst, subsuming the southern half of Main Road 315 (its northern half, along Punchbowl Road, was designated as part of Main Road 549, and from Stathfield along The Boulevarde, it was redesignated as Main Road 668, which was also routed north along the former alignment of Main Road 200, from Strathfield along Concord Road to meet Homebush Bay Drive just south of Ryde Bridge), The passing of the
Roads Act of 1993 updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, the A3 retains its declaration as Main Roads 139 (as Devlin Street), 162 (as Lane Cove, Ryde and Mona Vale Roads), and Main Road 200 (Church Street, Homebush Bay and Centenary Drives, Roberts Road, Wiley Avenue and King Georges Road). The route was designated as Ring Road 3 in 1964, and redesignated as state route 33 in 1974. The new alignment via Homebush Bay and Centenary Drives and Roberts Road was designated as part of state route 33 in December 1992. The earlier alignment through Strathfield (along The Boulevarde and Punchbowl Road, along Main Roads 549 and 668) was redesignated as state route 27, but was de-designated in 2004. The whole route was redesignated
Metroad 3 in April 1993, one of Sydney's only Metroad routes not to have changed alignment since their introduction. With the conversion to the alphanumeric system in 2013, Metroad 3 was redesignated as route A3. ==Exits and interchanges==