Main North Road

Main North Road

Horrocks Highway

South Australia
Main North Road; Horrocks Highway; South Australia
	Looking south at Main North Road's southern (city) end.
	North end South end
Coordinates	32°37′39″S 137°54′58″E / 32.627516°S 137.916036°E (North end); 34°54′07″S 138°35′40″E / 34.901921°S 138.594486°E (South end);
General information
Type	Road
Length	307 km (191 mi)
Route number(s)	B56 (1998–present); (Winninowie–Wilmington); B82 (1998–present); (Wilmington–Gawler Belt); B19 (1998–present); (Gawler–Evanston South); A20 (2017–present); (Evanston South–Gepps Cross); A1 (2017–present); (Gepps Cross–North Adelaide);
Former; route number	National Route 56 (1955–1998); (Stirling North–Wilmington); National Route 83 (1955–1998); (Just north of Clare–Giles Corner); National Route 32 (1955–1998); (Giles Corner–Gawler); 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	Augusta Highway; Winninowie, South Australia
	Horrocks Highway; Wilmington-Ucolta Road; Wilkins Highway; Goyder Highway; RM Williams Way; Barrier Highway; Sturt Highway; Grand Junction Road; Robe Terrace;
South end	Prospect Road; O'Connell Street; North Adelaide
Location(s)
Region	Yorke and Mid North, Barossa Light and Lower North, Northern Adelaide, Eastern Adelaide
Major suburbs	Wilmington, Gladstone, Clare, Giles Corner, Gawler, Elizabeth, 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.^[3] It continues north through the settled areas of South Australia and is a total of 307 kilometres (191 mi) long, from North Adelaide to 21 kilometres (13 mi) out of Port Augusta.^[4] It follows the route established in the early years of the colony by explorer John Horrocks and was 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 Gawler to Wilmington was renamed Horrocks Highway.^[5]

Route

Main North Road branches from the northern end of O'Connell Street (North Adelaide) and passes through the Adelaide Parklands and the suburbs of Thorngate, Medindie, Medindie Gardens, Nailsworth, Prospect, Sefton Park, Blair Athol and Enfield before reaching the major intersection at Gepps Cross. Here the road forks, with the Port Wakefield Road (A1 - National Highway 1) continuing to the north, and the Main North Road turning northeast and continuing as route A20.

It continues through the outer northern suburbs, passing Mawson Lakes and Salisbury, crossing the Little Para River and passing Elizabeth and Smithfield before entering Gawler. In Gawler, it crosses the South Para and North Para Rivers, and the Barossa Valley Way branches to the east between them. Just north of Gawler, it passes under the Sturt Highway which heads east to the Barossa Valley, Riverland, northern Victoria and New South Wales.

This is where the name Horrocks Highway takes over from the historic name of Main North Road. The environment changes from the urban environment to undulating land, mostly cleared for grain cropping. Several of the towns have grain storage bunkers or silos. It crosses the Light River then crosses and follows the Gilbert River to where the Barrier Highway branches northeast towards Riverton and Burra.

Over the next ridge, it crosses the Wakefield River and enters the southern end of the Clare Valley. The dominant scenery changes from grain crops to grapevines from Auburn to Clare, then returns to grain fields again north of the Hutt River as it passes through the Southern Flinders Ranges. It crosses the Broughton River near Yacka and on to Wilmington at the eastern side of Horrocks Pass. As the Horrocks Highway is in the valley between the southern Flinders Ranges and northern Mount Lofty Ranges, it is in the relatively wetter climate south of Goyder's Line.

Horrocks Highway

Main North Road from Wilmington to Gawler Belt was renamed to Horrocks Highway in 2011 to honour John Horrocks, an early explorer and pioneer in the region.^[5] However while Main North Road turns west in Wilmington through Horrocks Pass to join the Augusta Highway as route B56, Horrocks Highway continues north beyond Wilmington as route B82 to Quorn.^[6]

Commuter route

In the metropolitan area, the 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.^[7] Bus routes via Main North Road generally begin with the prefix "22x". The bus service is provided by SouthLink for Adelaide Metro.

Route numbers

From north to south, the route numbers used along the road are:

B56 from Stirling North, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south-east of Port Augusta to Wilmington, where route B56 follows Willowie Road to Peterborough;
B82 from Wilmington through the Clare Valley and the northern fringes of Gawler;
B19 through Gawler, where B19 follows Barossa Valley Way through the Barossa Valley wine region;
A20 from the southern fringes of Gawler to Gepps Cross, in the northern suburbs of Adelaide
A1 from Gepps Cross to North Adelaide.

In late 2010 when the 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 the 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

LGA^[9]	Location^[1]^[4]	km^[1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Port Augusta	Winninowie	0.0	0.0	Augusta Highway (A1) – Port Augusta, Snowtown	Northern terminus of road and route B56
Port Augusta	Winninowie	0.2	0.12	Adelaide–Port Augusta railway line
Mount Remarkable	Wilmington	20.7	12.9	Horrocks Highway (B82 north) – Quorn	Concurrency of routes B56 and B82
	Wilmington	23.3	14.5	Willowie Road (B56 east) – Orroroo, Peterborough	Concurrency of routes B56 and B82
	Melrose	50.0	31.1	White Wells Road – Booleroo Centre
	Murray Town	59.4	36.9	Nukunu Yarta Way – Booleroo Centre
	Murray Town	62.4	38.8	Germein Gorge Road – Port Germein
Northern Areas	Laura	90.0	55.9	Possum Park Road – Crystal Brook
	Gladstone	100.0	62.1	Wilkins Highway (B79) – Crystal Brook, Jamestown, Hallett
	Gladstone	101.6	63.1	Crystal Brook–Broken Hill railway line
	Gulnare	121.9	75.7	Goyder Highway (B64 west) – Crystal Brook	Concurrency of routes B64 and B82
	Gulnare	124.0	77.1	Goyder Highway (B64 east) – Spalding, Burra, Renmark	Concurrency of routes B64 and B82
Wakefield	Brinkworth	150.0	93.2	Condowie Plain Road – Snowtown
Clare and Gilbert Valleys	Bungaree	159.8	99.3	Bungaree Road (north) – Bungaree
		162.6	101.0	RM Williams Way (B80) – Spalding, Jamestown
		168.3	104.6	Bungaree Road (south) – Bungaree
	Clare	174.8	108.6	Blyth Road – Blyth, Lochiel
	Clare	175.7	109.2	Farrell Flat Road – Hanson, Burra
	Auburn	200.0	124.3	Balaklava Road (B84 west) – Balaklava, Port Wakefield	Concurrency of routes B82 and B84
	Auburn	200.2	124.4	Saddleworth Road (B84 east) – Saddleworth	Concurrency of routes B82 and B84
Wakefield River		204.9	127.3	Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
Clare and Gilbert Valleys	Giles Corner	224.5	139.5	Barrier Highway (A32) – Burra, Hallett, Broken Hill	Northbound entrance to and southbound exit from Barrier Highway only
Clare and Gilbert Valleys	Tarlee	230.0	142.9	Tarlee Road – Kapunda
Light River		239.8	149.0	Linwood Bridge
Light	Templers	253.1	157.3	Owen Road (northwest) – Hamley Bridge, Owen, Balaklava Templers Road (east) – Freeling
	Gawler Belt	264.1	164.1	Thiele Highway (B81) – Freeling, Kapunda, Eudunda, Morgan
	Gawler Belt	264.7	164.5	Sturt Highway (A20) – Adelaide, Nuriootpa, Renmark	Southern terminus of route B82, unallocated south
North Para River		267.0	165.9	Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
Gawler	Gawler	267.6	166.3	Barossa Valley railway line
Gawler	Gawler	267.9	166.5	Barossa Valley Way (B19) – Lyndoch, Tanunda, Nuriootpa	Route B19 continues south (as Adelaide Road)
South Para River		268.7	167.0	Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
Gawler	Evanston South	268.8	167.0	Twelfth Street (B77) – Gawler River, Two Wells
Gawler	Evanston-Evanston Park-Evanston South tripoint	272.4	169.3	Gawler Bypass (A20 north) – Nuriootpa, Renmark	Northeast-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
Playford	Elizabeth Vale-Hillbank boundary	286.6	178.1	John Rice Avenue (A9) – Salisbury, Port Adelaide
Little Para River		287.5	178.6	Bridge over the river (bridge name unknown)
Salisbury	Salisbury Park-Salisbury Plain-Salisbury Heights tripoint	289.1	179.6	The Grove Way (A11 southeast) – Golden Grove Saints Road (northwest) – Salisbury Plain
	Salisbury South-Salisbury East-Parafield-Para Hills West quadripoint	292.6	181.8	McIntyre Road (A18 southeast) – Modbury Kings Road (A18 northwest) – Salisbury Downs
	Mawson Lakes-Pooraka boundary	297.6	184.9	Montague Road – Cavan, Modbury
Port Adelaide Enfield	Gepps Cross	300.0	186.4	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
Prospect-Port Adelaide Enfield boundary	Prospect-Enfield-Sefton Park tripoint	302.9	188.2	Regency Road – Kilkenny, Greenacres
Prospect-Walkerville-Adelaide tripoint	Thorngate-Medindie-North Adelaide tripoint	305.9	190.1	Fitzroy Terrace (R1 west) – Hindmarsh, Thebarton Robe Terrace (R1 east) – Kent Town, Dulwich	Route A1 north from here, unallocated south
Adelaide	North Adelaide	306.3	190.3	O'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 Concurrency terminus Incomplete access Route transition

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Main North Road" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
^ "Location SA Map viewer with regional layers". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
^ 2003 Adelaide Street Directory, 41st Edition. UBD (A Division of Universal Press Pty Ltd). 2003. ISBN 0-7319-1441-4.
^ ^a ^b "Location SA Map viewer with suburb layers". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Highways renamed" (PDF). The Flinders News. Rural Press. 31 August 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
^ "Highway One gets a change of name". Plains Producer. 19 August 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
^ "FAQs: What is a Go Zone?". AdelaideMetro.com.au. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
^ "Road Route Numbers (Trail Blazer)". Data SA. Government of South Australia. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
^ "Location SA Map viewer with LGA layers". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2022.

[gmaps-1] "Main North Road" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 20 June 2022.

[SARegions-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.

[SAlocs-4] "Location SA Map viewer with suburb layers". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2022.

[rename-5] "Highways renamed" (PDF). The Flinders News. Rural Press. 31 August 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.

[6] "Highway One gets a change of name". Plains Producer. 19 August 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2014.

[7] "FAQs: What is a Go Zone?". AdelaideMetro.com.au. Retrieved 24 March 2015.

[8] "Road Route Numbers (Trail Blazer)". Data SA. Government of South Australia. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2017.

[SALGAs-9] "Location SA Map viewer with LGA layers". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2022.

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v t e Road infrastructure in South Australia
Expressways	South Eastern Freeway Port River Expressway Northern Expressway North–South Motorway (incomplete, under construction) Southern Expressway
Interstate highways	Barrier Highway Dukes Highway Eyre Highway Mallee Highway Princes Highway Stuart Highway Sturt Highway
State highways	Augusta Highway Gawler Bypass Horrocks Highway Main South Road Port Wakefield Highway Riddoch Highway Victor Harbor Road
Arterial roads	Adelaide–Mannum Road Alexandrina Road Barossa Valley Way Birdseye Highway Browns Well Highway Cameron Highway Copper Coast Highway Flinders Highway Flinders Ranges Way Glenelg Highway Gorge Road Goyder Highway Horrocks Highway Karoonda Highway Lincoln Highway Ngarkat Highway Olympic Dam Highway Onkaparinga Valley Road Playford Highway RM Williams Way Southern Ports Highway Spencer Highway St Vincent Highway Stott Highway Strathalbyn Road The Outback Highway Thiele Highway Tod Highway Wellington Road Wilkins Highway Wilmington–Ucolta Road Wimmera Highway Yorke Highway
Outback tracks	Anne Beadell Highway Birdsville Track Colson Track Gunbarrel Highway Maralinga to Emu Road Mount Davies Road Oodnadatta Track Strzelecki Track Vokes Hill Corner to Cook Road
Transport in South Australia; List of road routes in South Australia

v t e Road infrastructure in Adelaide
Freeways	South Eastern Freeway North–South Corridor Northern Expressway North–South Motorway (in progress) Southern Expressway Port River Expressway
Highways and major roads	Anzac Highway Adelaide–Mannum Road (North East Road) Gawler Bypass Glen Osmond Road Grand Junction Road Main North Road Main South Road Mount Barker Road Port Road Port Wakefield Road Portrush/Lower Portrush/Ascot/Taunton/Hampstead Roads Salisbury Highway Sir Donald Bradman Drive South Road Victor Harbor Road
Arterials and other roads	Churchill Road City Ring Route Cross Road Daws Road Elder Smith Road Flagstaff Road Fullarton Road Goodwood Road Grange Road Greenhill Road Henley Beach Road Kensington Road McIntyre/King Roads Magill Road Marion Road Melbourne Street Montacute Road Montague Road O'Connell Street Panalatinga Road Payneham/Lower North East Roads Philip Highway Prospect Road Regency/Muller Roads Tapleys Hill/Brighton/Ocean/Lonsdale/Dyson/Murray Roads The Parade Torrens Road Unley Road Victoria Road
City streets	Angas Street East Terrace Carrington Street Currie Street Flinders Street Franklin Street Gawler Place Gilbert Street Gilles Street Gouger Street Grenfell Street Grote Street Halifax Street Hindley Street Jeffcott Street King William Street Morphett Street North Terrace Pirie Street Pulteney Street Rundle Mall Rundle Street South Terrace Sturt Street Wakefield Street Waymouth Street West Terrace Wright Street
Transport in Adelaide; List of numbered roads in Adelaide