North–South Corridor | |
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The North-South Corridor, with the Sturt Highway extension also shown | |
General information | |
Type | Freeway |
Length | 78 km (48 mi) |
Route number(s) | ![]() |
Major junctions | |
South end | ![]() Old Noarlunga, Adelaide |
North end | ![]() Gawler, South Australia |
Location(s) | |
Major suburbs / towns | Bedford Park, Black Forest, Glandore, Angle Park, Globe Derby Park, Bolivar, Waterloo Corner, Virginia, Penfield, Andrews Farm, Angle Vale, Gawler |
Highway system | |
The North–South Corridor is a series of component motorways travelling through Adelaide, South Australia that will eventually form a continuous link from Old Noarlunga in the outer southern metropolitan Adelaide suburbs through to Gawler in northern metropolitan Adelaide, comprising a distance of 78km. [1] Under South Australia's road route system, the corridor is signed as route M2.
Comprising the Northern Expressway, the North–South Motorway and the Southern Expressway, parts of the corridor are still under construction or planning, with the project aiming for completion by 2031. [2]
By 2031, all of these major road links are proposed to have been completed, thus making a major route through the Adelaide metropolitan area a much more efficient way to travel. Its expected to take only one hour to travel from Noarlunga in the South to Gawler in the North. When announced, the incumbent government had a strategy to deliver the complete project in ten years from May 2015. [3]
The components identified by the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, from north to south, are: [4]
Section | Status | Opened |
---|---|---|
Northern Expressway | ||
Northern Expressway | Complete | 13 September 2010 |
North–South Motorway | ||
Northern Connector | Complete | 7 March 2020 |
South Road Superway | Complete | 13 March 2014 |
Regency Road to Pym Street | Complete | 30 March 2021 |
Torrens Road to River Torrens | Complete | 29 September 2018 |
River Torrens to Darlington | Under investigation | TBA |
Southern Expressway | ||
Darlington Upgrade | Complete | 1 August 2020 |
Duplication | Complete | 3 August 2014 |
The Northern Expressway opened in September 2010 and was named the Max Fatchen Expressway, as the longest new road project in South Australia for a number of decades. Max Fatchen was a popular author and journalist who had grown up and lived most of his life in the area traversed by the expressway. The 4 lane highway extends from Port Wakefield Road, northwest through 5 interchanges in Penfield (2 interchanges), Andrews Farm, Angle Vale and Gawler River to where it joins the Sturt Highway just outside Gawler.
Cycling is prohibited on the expressway. The Stuart O'Grady Bikeway was constructed in conjunction with the expressway and follows the southeastern side of it.
The North–South Motorway is an incomplete planned motorway traversing the inner western suburbs of Adelaide from Waterloo Corner and Virginia in the north to Bedford Park in the south. As a free-flowing north-south route it will be the primary route through Adelaide, bypassing the traffic light intersections along Port Wakefield Road and South Road, and will connect the Northern Expressway and Southern Expressway.
For the purposes of construction planning, the motorway was divided into sections which have been progressively constructed since 2010. As of March 2021, approximately 24.1 kilometres (15.0 mi) of the motorway has been completed with the remaining 10.5 kilometres (6.5 mi) currently under investigation.
The Southern Expressway opened in two stages in 1997 and 2001 respectively, as a one way freeway which was closed for an hour twice a day, and reversed direction to match peak traffic flow. It was open northwards, towards the city, on weekday mornings and weekend afternoons. It was open southwards, away from the city, on weekday afternoons and weekend mornings. Duplication of the expressway began in 2011, with the construction of a second carriageway allowing the expressway to operate in both directions at all hours. The duplication opened in August 2014. [5]
The northern terminus of the expressway is at South Road in St Marys, where it runs through Bedford Park in an open cutting adjacent to Main South Road on the surface. This section began construction in 2016 and opened in 2020, replacing the original northern terminus, a signalised intersection further south, and bypassing five sets of traffic lights on Main South Road.
The southern terminus of the expressway is at Main South Road, Old Noarlunga. Northbound traffic has free-flowing entry onto the roadway. Southbound travellers have a set of traffic lights to exit the expressway. Heading south after the expressway, Victor Harbor can be accessed with one additional set of traffic lights. Traffic to Cape Jervis encounters three more sets of lights.
The Gawler Bypass extends the continuous motorway at the northern end of the Corridor to the Sturt Highway at Hewett. Beyond Hewett, the Sturt Highway has been built to dual carriageway standards until Nuriootpa. The second carriageway was added between 2007 and 2009, providing a total of two lanes in each direction. The Sturt Highway continues beyond Nuriootpa as just one lane each way. The next major bottleneck is the town of Truro, which has the highway as its main street. A bypass is proposed in 5 to 15 years from the 2015 integrated plan. [6]
Hume Highway, inclusive of the sections now known as Hume Freeway and Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for 840 kilometres (520 mi) between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of the route from Sydney's outskirts to Melbourne's outskirts to dual carriageway was completed on 7 August 2013.
Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about 40–44 km (25–27 mi) north of the state capital, Adelaide, and is close to the major wine producing district of the Barossa Valley. Topographically, Gawler lies at the confluence of two tributaries of the Gawler River, the North and South Para rivers, where they emerge from a range of low hills.
Sturt Highway is an Australian national highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight between Sydney and Adelaide and the regions along the route.
Princes Motorway is a 62-kilometre (39 mi) predominantly dual carriage untolled motorway that links Sydney to Wollongong and further south through the Illawarra region to Oak Flats. Part of the Australian Highway 1 network, the motorway is designated route M1.
Southern Expressway is an 18.5 km (11.5 mi) freeway through the southern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the southern part of the North–South Corridor which extends the full length of Adelaide and is being built to urban freeway standard. It is designated part of route M2.
Light Regional Council is a local government area north of Adelaide in South Australia. It is based in the town of Kapunda, and includes the towns of Freeling, Greenock, Hansborough, Hewett, Roseworthy and Wasleys.
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Main North Road is the major north–south arterial route through the suburbs north of the Adelaide City Centre in the city of Adelaide, South Australia, and linking to Gawler on Adelaide's outer north-eastern fringes.
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The Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study, or "MATS Plan" as it became known, was a comprehensive transport plan released in 1968 proposing a number of road and rail transport projects for the metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia.
Port River Expressway is a 5.7-kilometre (3.5 mi) freeway-grade road. The expressway links Port Adelaide and the LeFevre Peninsula across the north-western suburbs of Adelaide to major interstate routes via North-South Motorway.
Northern Expressway, also known as the Fatchen Northern Expressway, is a 21 kilometre long controlled-access highway in Adelaide, South Australia. Since March 2020, the North–South Motorway continues west of Port Wakefield Highway and intersects the Port River Expressway to reach the harbour at Port Adelaide. These are the northernmost two parts of the North–South Corridor.
Gawler Bypass is a major north–south route in the outer northern suburbs of the city of Adelaide, South Australia, connecting Main North Road to the Sturt Highway, bypassing Gawler. The route was built in 1963 in an attempt to redirect traffic on the national highway out of Gawler town centre. It has been upgraded and realigned several times since then.
The North–South Motorway is a partially complete motorway traversing the inner western suburbs of Adelaide, from Waterloo Corner in the north to Bedford Park in the south. Progressively constructed in stages since 2010, once complete it will replace the adjacent South Road as Adelaide's main north–south roadway. It will form the central section of the North–South Corridor, being flanked north and south by the Northern Expressway and Southern Expressway, respectively. It is designated part of route M2.
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