Road Photos & Information: South Australia
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| Border welcome sign on the Victoria / South Australia border at Yamba, SA. Image © Paul Rands. |
You've arrived at the road photos and information section that covers South Australia.
The state's main roads are administered by Transport SA, the department manages nearly 23 000 kilometres of South Australia’s road network, which represents almost 25 per cent of the state’s total road network. The state has some roads that are numbered using alphanumeric designation to indicate the importance and / or the standard of the route. Previous to the introduction of alphanumeric routes in 1998 the state did not have state numbered routes, only numbered national routes and national highways.*
The route numbering markers are as follows:*
In 1920, some 10,000 motor cars and 700 commercial vehicles were registered in South Australia. By 1929, their numbers had grown to 56,000 and 13,000 respectively. Integrated highway planning, abandoned when the Local Boards of Main Roads were abolished in 1887, was revived in 1926 with the appointment of a Commissioner of Highways. State and Federal revenues from petrol and motor taxes were to be devoted solely to road construction, initially in a programme of bituminous reconstruction of arterial highways within an 80 kilometre radius of Adelaide. **
In 1962, a report recommended a system of freeways for Adelaide, totalling 156 kilometres, that would be expected to 'serve road traffic needs up to 1981'.
A report, entitled "Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study (MATS)" was designed to examine the freeway proposals. The MATS transportation plan, when released, received a interesting reaction on its release in 1968. The MATS proposed system of 98 kilometres of expressways, which found support among the motoring and construction lobbies but provoked such wide-spread condemnation among the general community that it discredited the technical approach to urban planning. Successive governments have deferred or cancelled sections of the proposed freeways; the line of the northeastern freeway is replaced by the world's first guided busway outside of Germany, the O-Bahn. **
The name, structure, operations and scope of the government agency responsible for road construction and maintenance changed over time. It has variously been called the Central (and Local) Board of Main Roads (1849 to 1917), the Local Government Department (1917 to 1926) after which the Department of Highways and Local Government came into being. In 1969 Highways and Local Government separated and road-making became the responsibility of the Highways Department. The name changed again in 1989 when the Highways Department was abolished and the Department of Road Transport was created. In 1992 the authority was called the Road Transport Agency, in 1995 it was the Department of Transport and finally in 1998 was named Transport SA.***
Presented below is data from Transport SA on various facts and figures about South Australia's road network.*
| Roads facts and figures as at February 2007 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Road categories | Road length (km) | ||
| Sealed | Unsealed | DTEI total | |
| National highway | 2,751 | 0 | 2,751 |
| Urban arterial | 920 | 0 | 920 |
| Urban local | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| Rural arterial | 8,565 | 48 | 8,613 |
| Rural local | 117 | 10,075 | 10,192 |
| Totals | 12,375 | 10,123 | 22,498 |
Below are the various road types that this site has photos of. In South Australia, routes are either numbered or not.
| Route Number: | Description: | Preview: |
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National Highway A1 / M1 &
A1 / B1 (Vic Border to WA Border):
Princes Hwy, Glen Osmond Rd, Main North Rd, Port Wakefield Road & Eyre Highway |
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A7 (Port Adelaide to North
Adelaide):
Port Road |
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A10 & B10 (North Adelaide
to Houghton):
Northcote Terrace, North East Road, (Torrens Valley Scenic Drive) Adelaide-Mannum Road, Mt Pleasant-Keyneton Road, Angaston Road and Railway Terrace |
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A11(Houghton to Adelaide): Lower North East Road, Payneham Road and North Terrace |
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A13 (Elizabeth to Victor Harbor): John Rice Avenue, Salisbury Highway, South Road, Main South Road, Victor Harbor Road & Adelaide Road |
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A15 (Port Noarlunga to Queenstown): Dyson Road, Lonsdale Road, Ocean Boulevard, Brighton Road, Tapleys Hill Road |
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National Highway A16 & A16
(Port Adelaide to Hope Valley): Grand Junction Road |
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A18 (Paralowie to Modbury): Bolivar Road, Kings Road and McIntyre Road |
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National Highway A20 (Vic Border to
Gepps Cross): Sturt Highway & Main North Road |
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A21
(Adelaide Inner City Ring Route): Robe Terrace, Hackney Road, Dequetteville Terrace, Fullarton Road, Greenhill Road, Goodwood Road, West Terrace, Port Road, Park Terrace & Fitzroy Terrace |
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A32 (Gawler to NSW Border): Main North Road & Barrier Highway |
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B19 (Gawler to Nuriootpa): Barossa Valley Way, Murray Street, Bridge Street, Adelaide Road & Main North Road |
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B23 (Old Noarlunga to Cape Jervis and Kangaroo Island): Main South Road (Fleurieu Way), Hog Bay Road, Elsegood Road and Playford Highway |
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B31 (Adelaide Eastern Suburbs to Barossa Valley via Adelaide Hills): Gorge Road, Tippett Road, Adelaide-Mannum Road, Little Para Road, South Para Road & Lyndoch Valley Road |
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B33 (Angas River Scenic Drive): Mount Barker Road, Strathalbyn Road, Aldgate-Strathalbyn Road, Adelaide Road, Angus Road, Venables Street & Macclesfield Road |
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B34 (Adelaide Hills to Fleurieau Peninsula): Mt Crawford Road, Warren Road, Adelaide-Mannum Road, Onkaparinga Valley Road, Lobethal-Mt Torrens Road, Mt Barker Road, Echunga Road, Adelaide Road, Battunga Road, Mawson Road, Brookman Road, Meadows Road, Victor Harbor Road & Pages Flat Road |
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B35 (Adelaide Hills to Murray Bridge): Cricks Mill Road, Williamstown Road, Birdwood Road, Adelaide-Mannum Road, Reedy Creek Road, Palmer Road, Mannum Road & Swanport Road |
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B37 (Mount Barker-Delamere): (Fleurieu Way) Range Road, Waitpinga Road, Mill Road, George Main Road, Port Elliot Road, Victor Harbor-Goolwa Road, Strathalbyn-Goolwa Road, Adelaide Road, Wistow-Strathalbyn Road & Wellington Road |
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B64 (Crystal Brook-Monash): Clare Highway / Goyder Highway |
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B79 (Port Pirie To Peterborough): Gladstone-Pirie Road, Park Terrace, Gladstone-Caltowie Road, Charles Street, Jamestown Road, Caltowie-Jamestown Road, Ayr Street, Jamestown-Hallett Road, Toromy Gap Road, Clare-Peterbrough Road, Mannanarie-Yongala Road, Jamestown-Orroroo Road, Yongala-Peterborough Road, Main Street & Wilmington-Ucolta Road |
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B80 (Hawker to Stanley Flat (Clare)): RM Williams Way |
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B82 (Navan (Giles Corner) To Quorn): Main North Road & Quorn-Wilmington Road |
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B83 (Stirling North (Port Augusta) to Lydnhurst): Quorn Road, Railway Terrace, Quorn-Hawker Road & Barndioota Road |
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B89 (Port Pirie to Wallaroo): Alford Road, Kadina Road, Port Pirie Road, Three Chain Road, Warnertown Road and Port Germain Road |
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B90 (Kyancutta to Port Lincoln region): Tod Highway |
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B100 (Port August to Ceduna via Port Lincoln): Lincoln Highway & Flinders Highway |
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B201 (Berri To Barmera): Old Sturt Highway |
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* Information courtesy of
Transport SA
** Information courtesy of Atlas of South Australia 1986
*** Information courtesy of History Trust of SA
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