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Dukes Highway

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Dukes Highway

South Australia
Map
Dukes Highway is located in South Australia
Northwest end
Northwest end
Southeast end
Southeast end
Coordinates
General information
TypeHighway
Length190 km (118 mi)[1]
Route number(s)
  • A8 (2017–present)
    Entire route
  • Concurrencies:
  • B57 (1998–present)
    (Cannawigara–Bordertown)
Former
route number
  • National Highway A8 (1998–2017)
  • National Highway 8 (1974–1998)
  • National Route 8 (1955–1974)
Major junctions
Northwest end Princes Highway
Tailem Bend, South Australia
 
Southeast end Western Highway
SA/VIC border
Location(s)
RegionMurray and Mallee, Limestone Coast[2]
Major settlementsCoonalpyn, Keith, Bordertown
Highway system

Dukes Highway is a 190 kilometre[1] highway corridor in South Australia, which is part of the link between the Australian cities of Adelaide and Melbourne. It is part of the National Highway system spanning Australia, and is signed as route A8.

Route

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Dukes Highway begins at the intersection with Princes Highway in Tailem Bend. It heads in a southeast direction to the state border with Victoria just east of Bordertown, continuing into Victoria as Western Highway, with the same route signage (route A8). It is mostly a single carriageway of one lane each way, with 36 overtaking lanes.[3] Approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) has 'wide centre lines', providing a 1.2 metres (3 ft 11 in) boundary between traffic travelling in opposite directions.[4]

Generally, the quality of Dukes Highway is of a high standard, with the entire road having wide lane widths and sealed shoulders with at least five (and usually six) metres clear beyond the edge line.[5] There are 16 rest areas or parking bays along the Dukes Highway, at approximately 15 km intervals. Each one provides sealed parking space for at least four B-double trucks, with bins, tables, shelter and lighting.[6]

History

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Dukes Highway runs through the northern part of the Limestone Coast region of South Australia. The route and many of the settlements, including Bordertown, were established in the 1850s to supply water to horses for the gold escorts from the Victorian goldfields to Adelaide.[7]

Gold was taken to Adelaide rather than the closer Melbourne because a higher price was offered there. The higher price was offered to stop the South Australian economy from collapsing, as all the labourers were heading to the Victorian Goldfields. The Bullion Act was passed and an Assay office was established in Adelaide for the assaying and stamping of gold in 1852. It is claimed that this saved South Australia from bankruptcy.[8]

By the 1930s, the series of separate tracks had started to coalesce into the route it follows today, and was already being referred to as "the Duke's Highway" – after the Duke of York, later King George VI[9] – but at the time the name had never been officially recognised. There was a push to name the road Tolmer Highway, after former police commissioner Alexander Tolmer of gold escort fame, but this never eventuated.[9]

In the latter half of the 20th century, the western end of Dukes Highway was realigned to meet the Mallee Highway closer to Tailem Bend. It previously ran north from Coomandook on the alignment that is now known as the Old Dukes Highway to Moorlands.[10]

The final 17 km of the highway after Bordertown, was originally built on unstable ground, and was re-constructed in 2005.[11]

Safety

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Dukes Highway is South Australia's deadliest major road, with 28 deaths in the 5 years to 2009.[12] This has led to calls for road improvements to separate traffic in each direction with a dual carriageway.[13] Point-to-point speed cameras have been installed on one section of the highway to identify drivers who flout the speed limit.[14]

Parts of the highway have wider centre lines installed, with audio tactile treatment to help drivers to realise and recover from drifting across the centre line before they encounter an oncoming vehicle. This is intended to reduce fatigue and inattention-related crashes.[15]

Major intersections

[edit]
StateLGA[16]Location[1][17]km[1]miDestinationsNotes
South AustraliaCoorongTailem Bend0.00.0 Princes Highway (A1 north, B1 south) – Adelaide, Murray Bridge, MeningieNorthwestern terminus of highway and route A8
1.91.2Adelaide–Wolseley railway line
3.01.9 Mallee Highway (B12) – Lameroo, Pinnaroo
Coomandook31.719.7Old Dukes Highway – Moorlands
Coonalpyn61.338.1McIntosh Way – Meningie
Tintinara94.959.0Adelaide–Wolseley railway line
TatiaraKeith12578 Riddoch Highway (A66) – Naracoorte, Penola, Mount Gambier
Cannawigara161100 Ngarkat Highway (B57 north) – Pinnaroo, LoxtonConcurrency with route B57
Bordertown171106 Naracoorte Road (B57 south) – Naracoorte, Penola, Mount Gambier
172107Adelaide–Wolseley railway line
Wolseley190120 Dukes Highway (A8)Southeastern terminus of Dukes Highway
State borderSouth Australia – Victoria state border
VictoriaWest WimmeraServiceton Western Highway (A8) – Horsham, Ballarat, MelbourneWestern terminus of Western Highway, route A8 continues east

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Dukes Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Location SA Map viewer with regional layers". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Overtaking Lanes". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, Government of South Australia. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Wide Centreline Treatment Strategy". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, Government of South Australia. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Roadside Hazard Management (Clear Zones)". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, Government of South Australia. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Rest Areas". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, Government of South Australia. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  7. ^ From interpretive signs in Bordertown and along the route
  8. ^ The Story of Keith 1851-1973, Fry, LPH 1953
  9. ^ a b "EYRE'S NAME NOT INCLUDED". The News. Adelaide. 17 June 1938. p. 5. Retrieved 31 October 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ South Australia. Highways and Local Government Department.; South Australian Government Tourist Bureau. (1950), South Australia showing main road system and important district roads, Highways & Local Government Department; M.E. Sherrah, Government photolithographer, retrieved 28 June 2016
  11. ^ "Dukes Highway pavement rehabilitation". AusLink. Retrieved 16 September 2006.[permanent dead link‍]
  12. ^ Dukes Highway rated SA's deadliest, ABC News, 20 January 2012.
  13. ^ David Nankervis (29 March 2013). "Two killed after B-double and car collide head-on along Dukes Highway". The Advertiser. Adelaide. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  14. ^ Glenn Power (11 February 2014). "Dukes Highway speed cameras almost ready". Murray Valley Standard. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  15. ^ "Wide Centreline Treatment Strategy". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, Government of South Australia. 30 January 2013. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  16. ^ "Location SA Map viewer with LGA layers". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Location SA Map viewer with suburb layers". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
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