South Road, Adelaide

South Road (route A2), also known as Main South Road (routes A13 and B23), is a major north–south conduit in Adelaide and Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia. It is one of Adelaide's most important arterial and bypass roads.

South Road Main South Road South Australia
South Road Underpass beneath the Anzac Highway
North end South end
Coordinates	34.833°S 138.563°E / -34.833; 138.563 (North end) 35.607°S 138.093°E / -35.607; 138.093 (South end)
General information
Type	Road
Length	115 km (71 mi)
Route number(s)	A2 (Wingfield - Darlington) A13 (Darlington - Old Noarlunga) B23 (Old Noarlunga - Cape Jervis)
Major junctions
North end	Salisbury Highway Port River Expressway, Wingfield, Adelaide
	Grand Junction Road Port Road Sir Donald Bradman Drive Anzac Highway Cross Road Southern Expressway Victor Harbor Road Yankalilla-Victor Harbor Road
South end	Cape Jervis-Noarlunga Road, Cape Jervis, South Australia via Ferry to Kangaroo Island
Location(s)
Major suburbs	Croydon, Hindmarsh, Mile End, Reynella, Morphett Vale, Old Noarlunga, Aldinga, Sellicks Hill, Yankalilla

The northern part of South Road contributes the central component of the North–South Corridor, a series of road projects under construction or planning that will eventually provide a continuous expressway between Old Noarlunga and Gawler.

History

South Road of today was until the 1970s known by a string of names: Shillabeer Avenue (from what was then its northern terminus at Regency Road to Torrens Road), Government Road (between Torrens and Port Roads), John Street (Port to Grange Roads), Taylors Road. (between Grange and Henley Beach Roads), Fisher Terrace (Henley Beach Road to Anzac Highway), and South Road from Anzac Highway southwards.[1]

Route

South Road carries much of the road traffic from the southern suburbs towards the Adelaide city centre. This traffic completes its journey to the city centre mainly via the Anzac Highway.

From the Anzac Highway, South Road continues north as a western bypass of the city across many arterials, the major ones being Sir Donald Bradman Drive, Port Road, Torrens Road, Regency Road and Grand Junction Road, to the junction with the Port River Expressway and the Salisbury Highway. Until the Port River Expressway opened in 2005, the sections of South Road and Salisbury Highway between Grand Junction Road and Port Wakefield Road were known as the South Road Extension, built in the early 1990s.

To the south of Anzac Highway, the name changes to Main South Road at the intersection of Ayliffes and Shepherds Hill Roads at Clovelly Park, and continues through Seaford (where the Victor Harbor road branches off) and runs parallel to the coastline of Gulf St Vincent until Normanville where it is known as Willis Drive for 2 km then continues to Cape Jervis at its southern tip. The town of Old Noarlunga, South Australia was bypassed in 1972,[2] and Old Reynella in 1964.[3] The Southern Expressway (M2) runs roughly parallel to Main South Road for 18 km between Darlington and Noarlunga and serves to reduce traffic congestion. Main South Road and the Southern Expressway have 3 different intersections along the length of the roads.

Congestion and upgrades

Main South Road approaching the northern junction with the Southern Expressway. The expressway was initially built as a single carriageway operating in the direction which would ease congestion on Main South Road. It reversed direction at midday and midnight. This design may have been successful, but was lampooned and widened to two-way traffic after the change of government in 2002.

South Road suffers from traffic congestion due to its importance as one of Adelaide's main arterial roads and bypasses. Traffic has also increased in line with the growth and development of Adelaide's southern suburbs.

An overpass was built over Cross Road and the Noarlunga railway line between 1982 and 1984 to reduce a major bottleneck.

The State government completed the "Gallipoli Underpass" under Anzac Highway, and an overpass of the Adelaide-Glenelg tramway, in 2009 and 2010. The underpass model used is a diamond interchange.

In November 2005, the Royal Automobile Association (RAA) released its recommendations to the South Australian government in regards to the road network. South Road was found to be the poorest road in the state, registering a 2/10 on the RAA's scale. The recommendations given included $6 billion of funds to upgrade the roads of South Australia – with $1.5–2 billion to be spent on South Road alone. The RAA's plan for the road included a 6 km tunnel from Port Road all the way to the Anzac Highway underpass and over/underpasses at six other major intersections and two rail crossings.[4]

On 18 August 2007, Prime Minister John Howard announced that South Road was to be included in the AusLink National Road Network, and also pledged $1 billion in funding for the project between 2007 and 2020.[5]

In October 2009, both the Premier of South Australia and the Prime Minister released plans for the South Road Superway — a 3–4 km section of elevated freeway running from the Port River Expressway to the intersection of Regency Road at a cost of $800 million. The project started in 2010 and was completed in early 2014. The elevated part provides separation at Grand Junction Road, Cormack Road, and the Dry Creek-Port Adelaide railway line.

Two further sections were identified and funded for upgrade following the 2013 Australian federal election. The first of these was the Darlington Upgrade addressing the section from the northern end of the Southern Expressway to provide a free-flowing route under the intersections with Flinders Drive and Sturt Road to the Ayliffes Road intersection. The Torrens Road to River Torrens lowered motorway addressed the major intersections with Grange and Port Roads, the Outer Harbor railway line crossing, and several minor road intersections. Both of these upgrades involved land acquisition to widen the road corridor, surface grade carriage ways on the edges, and a lowered central roadway carrying the free-flow traffic below the crossing routes. The Torrens to Torrens project was started in 2015,[6] and opened to traffic in 2018.[7] The scope of both sections was extended northwards. The initial plan for Torrens to Torrens did not include grade separation at Torrens Road which was later added. The initial plan for Darlington did not include grade separation at Ayliffes Road or Tonsley Boulevard. The Darlington upgrade is scheduled for completion n mid-2020.[8]

In January 2017, the Outer Harbor railway line level crossing was replaced in a grade separation project as part of the Torrens to Torrens project.[9] In April 2017, reports emerged involving a confirmation by the State Government stating that South Road's upgrades used contaminated cement.[10] The Torrens River to Torrens Road lowered motorway opened to traffic in late September 2018.[11]

An upgrade of Regency Road to Pym Street, the gap between the elevated South Road Superway and the (then) almost-completed Torrens to Torrens project, was announced on 1 May 2018, to be jointly funded by the state and federal governments.[12] The section includes three sets of traffic lights and several uncontrolled intersections with minor streets. A timeframe for completion was not announced at the same time, but was later announced to be expected in 2022.[13]

Major intersections (north–south)

LGA[14]	Location	km[15]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Port Adelaide Enfield	Wingfield	0.0	0.0	Salisbury Highway – Port Wakefield Road National Route A1 & Sturt Highway National Route A20 / Port River Expressway State Route A9 – Port Adelaide	South Road at ground level; North-South Motorway elevated
		0.7	0.43	Dry Creek-Port Adelaide railway line
		0.8	0.50	Cormack Road
	Wingfield, Angle Park, Regency Park	1.9	1.2	Grand Junction Road
	Regency Park	2.8	1.7	Days Road
		3.4	2.1	North-South Motorway	North-South Motorway is elevated from here to northern end, along same alignment as South Road at ground level
	Regency Park, Croydon Park	4.8	3.0	Regency Road
	Croydon Park			North-South Motorway	North-South Motorway is below-grade, between the carriageways of South Road at ground level
Charles Sturt	Renown Park, Croydon, Ridleyton	6.3	3.9	Torrens Road
	Ridleyton, Croydon, Hindmarsh	7.6	4.7	Outer Harbor railway line	Former level crossing replaced by bridge January 2017[16]
	Hindmarsh, Croydon, West Hindmarsh	7.8	4.8	Port Road
	Hindmarsh, West Hindmarsh	8.1	5.0	Manton Street (east), Grange Road (west)
				North-South Motorway	North-South Motorway is below-grade, between the carriageways of South Road at ground level
Charles Sturt, West Torrens	Hindmarsh, West Hindmarsh, Thebarton, Torrensville	9.1	5.7	River Torrens
West Torrens	Mile End, Torrensville	10.4	6.5	Henley Beach Road
	Mile End, Mile End South, Hilton	11.3	7.0	Sir Donald Bradman Drive – Adelaide Airport
	Richmond, Mile End South	11.9	7.4	James Congdon Drive (R1) / Deacon Avenue – City Mazda Stadium	Inner Ring Route R1 is concurrent with South Road for about a half kilometre[17]
	Mile End South, Keswick, Richmond, Marleston	12.4	7.7	Richmond Road (R1)
West Torrens, Unley	Ashford, Kurralta Park, Everard Park, Glandore	13.7	8.5	Anzac Highway	Diamond interchange with South road free-flowing underneath
West Torrens, Marion, Unley	Everard Park, Black Forest, Kurralta Park, Glandore	14.3	8.9	Glenelg Tram	[18]
Unley, Mitcham, Marion	Black Forest, Clarence Park, Clarence Gardens, Edwardstown, Glandore	15.3	9.5	Cross Road, Seaford railway line	Emerson Crossing Diamond interchange with South Road free flowing on a bridge over the intersection, with the railway line diagonally through the middle
Mitcham, Marion	Melrose Park, St Marys, Edwardstown, Clovelly Park	18.7	11.6	Daws Road
	St Marys, Bedford Park, Clovelly Park	20.2	12.6	Ayliffes Road, Shepherds Hill Road	both on east side
	Bedford Park, Clovelly Park	21.0	13.0	Sturt Road – Flinders University	grade separation proposed[19]
	Bedford Park	21.4	13.3	Flinders Drive – Flinders Medical Centre	east side
		21.8	13.5	Southern Expressway	west side
Mitcham, Onkaparinga, Marion	Bedford Park, Darlington	22.0	13.7	Sturt River
Onkaparinga, Marion	Darlington, Bedford Park, Sturt	22.4	13.9	Flagstaff Road / Marion Road
	O'Halloran Hill	25.8	16.0	Majors Road	west side
	O'Halloran Hill, Happy Valley	26.1	16.2	Black Road	east side
	Happy Valley, O'Halloran Hill	26.5	16.5	Chandlers Hill Road	east side
	Happy Valley, O'Halloran Hill, Trott Park	29.2	18.1	Panalatinga Road / Southern Expressway
Onkaparinga	Old Reynella, Morphett Vale, Reynella	32.5	20.2	Pimpala Road / Sherriffs Road
	Morphett Vale	33.9	21.1	Bains Road / O'Sullivan Beach Road
	Morphett Vale	35.0	21.7	Wheatsheaf Road / Flaxmill Road
	Morphett Vale, Hackham, Hackham West	36.2	22.5	Doctors Road / Beach Road
	Hackham, Hackham West, Huntfield Heights	37.2	23.1	Honeypot Road	west side
	Hackham, Huntfield Heights	37.4	23.2	Pennys Hill Road	east side
	Hackham, Huntfield Heights, Noarlunga Downs	40.0	24.9	Southern Expressway	west side
	Old Noarlunga, Noarlunga Downs, Seaford Meadows	42.0	26.1	Onkaparinga River
	Old Noarlunga	42.3	26.3	Victor Harbor Road – McLaren Vale, Mount Compass, Victor Harbor	Continues as Main South Road to Cape Jervis. No right turn from Main South Road to Victor Harbor Road. East side
Yankalilla	Myponga	68	42	Pages Flat Road – Mount Compass
	Yankalilla	82	51	Inman Valley Road – Inman Valley, Victor Harbor	east side
	Delamere	105	65	Range Road – Parawa, Victor Harbor	east side
	Cape Jervis	116	72
Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Route transition

Gallery

• 
  Looking south from the Cross Road Overpass, Edwardstown.
• 
  South Road overpass at Cross Road / Emerson Station.

See also

• Highways in Australia
• List of highways in South Australia
• Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study

References

1. Sands and McDougall's Directory, 1962.
2. Old Noarlunga
3. Local Studies. Former Cricketers-Retrieved 24/01/2012
4. PDF Archived 15 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
5. Media Releases Archived 29 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
6. "North-South Corridor: Torrens Road to River Torrens". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, Government of South Australia. 5 August 2015. 145594. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
7. "T2T". T2T Alliance. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
8. "Darlington Upgrade Project". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, Government of South Australia. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
9. Major works kick off to remove one of Adelaide's worst level crossings Government of South Australia 2 January 2017
10. "South Road upgrade work used contaminated cement, SA Government confirms". ABC Online. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
11. "Torrens to Torrens Part of South Road Upgrade to Open This Weekend". AdelaideNow. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
12. "Regency Road to Pym Street". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, Government of South Australia. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
13. Tudge, Alan; Knoll, Stephan (5 July 2019). "Building Regency to Pym to begin this year" (PDF) (Press release). Retrieved 14 December 2019.
14. "Property Location Browser". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, Government of South Australia. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
15. Google (21 May 2015). "South Road, Adelaide" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
16. Outer Harbor Rail Overpass & Temporary South Road Closure T2T Alliance
17. "Road Route Numbers (Trail Blazer)". Data SA. Government of South Australia. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
18. "Glenelg Tram Overpass". South Australian Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
19. "BUDGET: Transport infrastructure investment". Premier & Ministers of South Australia. 21 September 2006. Archived from the original on 27 July 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2009.