Olympic Dam Highway

Olympic Dam Highway South Australia
South end North end
Coordinates	31°15′34″S136°48′16″E / 31.259408°S 136.804349°E / -31.259408; 136.804349 (South end) 30°28′44″S136°53′24″E / 30.478884°S 136.890095°E / -30.478884; 136.890095 (North end)
General information
Type	Highway
Length	92.5 km (57 mi) [1]
Route number(s)	B97 (1998–present)
Major junctions
South end	Stuart Highway Pimba, South Australia
	Andamooka Road
North end	Borefield Road Olympic Dam, South Australia
Location(s)
Region	Far North [2]
Major settlements	Woomera, Roxby Downs
Highway system
Highways in Australia National Highway  • Freeways in Australia Highways in South Australia

Olympic Dam Highway is a sealed, 92-kilometre-long (57-mile), outback highway in South Australia that runs from Stuart Highway in Pimba to Olympic Dam via Woomera. ^[3] The road also provides access to the town of Roxby Downs. ^[4] It is designated route B97.

Route

Olympic Dam Highway commences at the intersection with Stuart Highway at Pimba and heads north, crossing the Trans-Australia railway line shortly afterwards, passing Woomera not long after, and continues in a northerly direction through arid zones for some distance before the old alignment of the highway, now named Olympic Way, branches northwest to Roxby Downs, meeting with it again some kilometres to the north as it bypasses the town to the east. It continues north until eventually reaching the Olympic Dam Village a short distance later, and eventually ending at the intersection with Borefield Road, just before the security checkpoint at the entrance to the Olympic Dam mine site.

History

Olympic Dam Highway had no previous route marker until South Australia's conversion to their newer alphanumeric system in 1998, when it was allocated route B97.^{[ citation needed ]}

In January 2022, Olympic Dam Highway was cut due to a section of the road being washed out. ^[5] The same section of road was also washed out in October 2022. ^[6]

Major intersections

LGA [7]	Location [1] [8]	km [1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Pastoral Unincorporated Area	Pimba	0.0	0.0	Stuart Highway (A87) – Port Augusta, Coober Pedy	Southern terminus of highway and route B97
		0.9	0.56	Trans-Australian railway line
	Woomera	6.6	4.1	Banool Avenue – Woomera
		8.0	5.0	private road to RAAF Base Woomera	T intersection
Roxby	Roxby Downs	79.4	49.3	Olympic Way (south) – Roxby Downs
		83.3	51.8	Andamooka Road – Andamooka
		88.6	55.1	Olympic Way (north) – Roxby Downs	T intersection
	Olympic Dam Village	92.0	57.2	Blinman Road – Olympic Dam, Olympic Dam Airport
		92.5	57.5	Borefield Road (east) – Stuarts Creek, Marree, William Creek	Northern terminus of highway and route B97 Road continues north as private road into Olympic Dam mine site
Route transition

References

1. "Olympic Dam Highway" (Map). Google Maps . Retrieved 28 October 2022.
2. "Location SA Map viewer with regional layers". Government of South Australia . Retrieved 16 June 2022.
3. "Outback South Australia and Flinders Ranges Map" (PDF). The Flinders Ranges Council. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
4. "Outback highway reopens, restoring access to flood-hit SA communities". ABC News. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
5. "Mining town marooned after floodwaters cut only road in or out". ABC News. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
6. "Outback highway upgrade flagged after second washout this year cuts off towns". ABC News. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
7. "Location SA Map viewer with LGA layers". Government of South Australia . Retrieved 16 June 2022.
8. "Location SA Map viewer with suburb layers". Government of South Australia . Retrieved 16 June 2022.