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Main North Road

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Main North Road

Looking south at Main North Road's southern (city) end
Main North Road is located in South Australia
North end
North end
South end
South end
Coordinates
General information
TypeRoad
Length41.8 km (26 mi)[1]
Route number(s)
  • B19 (1998–present)
    (Gawler–Evanston South)
  • A20 (2017–present)
    (Evanston South–Gepps Cross)
  • A1 (2017–present)
    (Gepps Cross–North Adelaide)
Former
route number
  • A52 (2010–2017)
  • National Highway A20 (1998–2010)
  • National Highway 20 (1992–1998)
  • National Route 20 (1955–1992)
    (Gawler–Gepps Cross)
  • National Highway A1 (1998–2017)
  • National Highway 1 (1974–1998)
  • National Route 1 (1955–1974)
    (Gepps Cross–North Adelaide)
Major junctions
North end Horrocks Highway
Gawler, South Australia
 
South endProspect Road
O'Connell Street

North Adelaide
Location(s)
RegionBarossa Light and Lower North, Northern Adelaide, Eastern Adelaide[2]
Major suburbsElizabeth, Salisbury, Gepps Cross, Medindie

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.[3][4]

Route

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Main North Road commences at the interchange with Sturt Highway and continues south into central Gawler as a single carriageway, two-lane road, where it crosses the North Para and South Para Rivers, and the Barossa Valley Way branches to the east between them. Leaving Gawler, the road widens to a four-lane, dual-carriageway road and passes through Smithfield and Elizabeth, before crossing the Little Para River. It continues through the outer northern suburbs, passing Salisbury and Mawson Lakes, before eventually reaching the major intersection at Gepps Cross. Here the road forks, with Port Wakefield Road (A1 – National Highway 1) continuing to the north, and the Main North Road turning south and passes through the suburbs of Enfield and Blair Athol, Nailsworth and Prospect, reaching Fitzroy and Robe Terraces in Medindie. It passes through the Adelaide Parklands, before eventually terminating at the intersection of O'Connell Street, Prospect Road and Barton Terrace West in North Adelaide.

Commuter route

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In the metropolitan area, Main North Road is a major commuter route to the central business district in the Adelaide city centre.

The portion of Main North Road between the city centre and Mawson Lakes is a 15-minute public transport 'Go Zone', with the maximum wait for a bus being 15 minutes during peak times (7:30 am – 6:30 pm weekdays) and 30 minutes on weekends and evenings.[5] Bus routes via Main North Road generally begin with the prefix "22x". The bus service is provided by SouthLink for Adelaide Metro.

History

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Main North Road previously continued north past Gawler through Tarlee, Clare, Gladstone and Wilmington, South Australia, then via Horrocks Pass to end at Winninowie, following the route established in the early years of the colony by explorer John Horrocks as a major route for farmers and graziers to reach the capital, passing through rich farmland and the Clare Valley wine region. In 2011, the section of road between Wilmington and Gawler in SA's mid-north was renamed Horrocks Highway – to honour John Horrocks, an early explorer and pioneer in the region[6] – and the section between Wilmington and Winninowie re-declared as Horrocks Pass Road, with the existing declaration of Main North Road truncated to officially begin at Gawler instead.

Main North Road was allocated National Routes 1 (between Gepps Cross and North Adelaide) and 20 (between Gawler and Gepps Cross) in 1955. The Whitlam government introduced the federal National Roads Act 1974,[7] where roads declared as a National Highway were still the responsibility of the states for road construction and maintenance, but were fully compensated by the Federal government for money spent on approved projects.[7]: S7  As an important interstate link between the capitals of Adelaide and Western Australia, Main North Road was declared a National Highway in 1974, and was consequently re-allocated National Highway 1 between Gepps Cross and North Adelaide; National Route 20 was also later declared a National Highway in 1992 as part of the interstate link between Adelaide and New South Wales, and also re-allocated as National Highway 20 between Gawler and Gepps Cross. With the state's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in 1998, its route numbers was updated to National Highway A1 between Gepps Cross and North Adelaide (and later to just route A1 in 2017), and National Highway A20 between Gawler and Gepps Cross, with route B19 declared along the old alignment through southern Gawler from Gawler Bypass to Barossa Valley Way.

In late 2010 when Northern Expressway was completed, National Highway A20 was diverted to the new road as National Highway M20: Main North Road and the southern section of Gawler Bypass Road were then designated as route A52. In late 2016, the Northern Expressway was designated M2, and the designation of Main North Road was reverted back as route A20 to Gepps Cross.[8]

Major intersections

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LGA[9]Location[1][4]km[1]miDestinationsNotes
GawlerGawler Belt0.00.0 Horrocks Highway (B82) – Clare, Wilmington, QuornNorthern terminus of road, continues north as Horrocks Highway
Sturt Highway (A20) – Adelaide, Nuriootpa, Renmark
North Para River2.31.4Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
GawlerGawler2.91.8Barossa Valley railway line
3.22.0 Barossa Valley Way (B19) – Lyndoch, Tanunda, NuriootpaRoute B19 continues south (as Adelaide Road)
South Para River4.02.5Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
GawlerEvanston South4.12.5 Twelfth Street (B77) – Gawler River, Two Wells
EvanstonEvanston ParkEvanston South tripoint7.74.8 Gawler Bypass (A20 north) – Nuriootpa, RenmarkNortheast-bound entrance from and southwest-bound exit to Main North Road only
Western terminus of route B19
Route A20 continues southwest along Main North Road
PlayfordElizabeth ValeHillbank boundary21.913.6 John Rice Avenue (A9) – Salisbury, Port Adelaide
Little Para River22.814.2Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
SalisburySalisbury ParkSalisbury PlainSalisbury Heights tripoint24.415.2 The Grove Way (A11 southeast) – Golden Grove
Saints Road (northwest) – Salisbury Plain
Salisbury SouthSalisbury EastParafieldPara Hills West quadripoint27.917.3 McIntyre Road (A18 southeast) – Modbury
Kings Road (A18 northwest) – Salisbury Downs
Mawson LakesPooraka boundary32.920.4Montague Road – Cavan, Modbury
Port Adelaide EnfieldGepps Cross35.321.9 Port Wakefield Road (A1 north) – Waterloo Corner, Port Wakefield
Grand Junction Road (A16 east, west) – Port Adelaide, Northfield
Southern terminus of route A20
Route A1 continues south along Main North Road
ProspectPort Adelaide Enfield boundaryProspectEnfieldSefton Park tripoint38.223.7Regency Road – Kilkenny, Greenacres
ProspectWalkervilleAdelaide tripointThorngateMedindieNorth Adelaide tripoint41.225.6 Fitzroy Terrace (R1 west) – Hindmarsh, Thebarton
Robe Terrace (R1 east) – Kent Town, Dulwich
Route A1 north from here, unallocated south
AdelaideNorth Adelaide41.625.8O'Connell Street (south) – North Adelaide, Adelaide CBD
Prospect Road (north) – Prospect
Barton Terrace West (west) – North Adelaide
Southern terminus of road
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Main North Road" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Location SA Map viewer with regional layers". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  3. ^ 2003 Adelaide Street Directory, 41st Edition. UBD (A Division of Universal Press Pty Ltd). 2003. ISBN 0-7319-1441-4.
  4. ^ a b "Location SA Map viewer with suburb layers". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  5. ^ "FAQs: What is a Go Zone?". AdelaideMetro.com.au. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  6. ^ "Highways renamed" (PDF). The Flinders News. Rural Press. 31 August 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  7. ^ a b National Roads Act 1974 (Cth)
  8. ^ "Road Route Numbers (Trail Blazer)". Data SA. Government of South Australia. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Location SA Map viewer with LGA layers". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2022.