Dukes Highway

The Dukes Highway is a 189 kilometre 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 National Highway A8.

Dukes Highway South Australia
West end East end
Coordinates	35.27°S 139.46°E (West end) 36.34°S 140.96°E (East end)
General information
Type	Highway
Length	190 km (118 mi)[1]
Route number(s)	National Highway A8
Former route number	National Highway 8
Major junctions
West end	Princes Highway (National Highway A1 / B1), Tailem Bend
	Mallee Highway (B12) Riddoch Highway (A66) Ngarkat Highway (B57)
East end	Western Highway (A8), SA/Vic border, 25 km (16 mi) west of Kaniva, Victoria
Location(s)
Major settlements	Coonalpyn, Keith, Bordertown
Highway system
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in South Australia

Route description

The Dukes Highway starts in Tailem Bend on the Princes Highway and extends southeast to the state border near Bordertown, South Australia. The highway continues in Victoria as the Western Highway, with the same route signage (National A8). The length of the highway in South Australia is around 191 km, joining onto the Western Highway in Victoria which is 443 km. It is a single carriageway of one lane each way, plus a total of 36 overtaking lanes.[2] 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.[3]

Generally, the quality of the 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.[4] The final 17 km of the highway after Bordertown, was originally built on unstable ground but was re-constructed in 2005.[5] There are a total of 16 rest areas or parking bays along the Dukes Highway, at approximately 15km intervals. Each one provides sealed parking space for at least four B-double trucks, with bins, tables, shelter and lighting.[6]

History

The 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]

In the latter half of the 20th century, the western end of the Dukes Highway was realigned to meet the Mallee Highway closer to Tailem Bend than it had previously when it ran north from Coomandook on the alignment that is now known as the Old Dukes Highway to Moorlands.[9]

Major road accidents

The Dukes highway is the state's deadliest major road, with 28 deaths in the 5 years to 2009.[10] This has led to calls for road improvements to separate traffic in each direction.[11] Point-to-point speed cameras have been installed on one section of the highway to identify drivers who flout the speed limit.[12] Parts of the highway have had 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.[13]

Motorists are advised to rest and recover at the many towns on the Dukes Highway, including Bordertown, Keith, Tintinara, Coonalpyn and Tailem Bend, where the Dukes Highway ends.

Major intersections

LGA[14][15]	Location	km[1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Coorong District Council	Tailem Bend	0	0.0	Princes Highway (National Highway A1 / B1) – Tailem Bend, Adelaide
		3	1.9	Mallee Highway (B12) – Pinnaroo, Sydney
	Coonalpyn	61	38	McIntosh Way – Meningie
Tatiara District Council	Keith	125	78	Riddoch Highway (A66) - Naracoorte, Mount Gambier
	Cannawigara	161	100	Ngarkat Highway (B57) – Pinnaroo
	Bordertown	172	107	Naracoorte Road (B57) – Naracoorte, Kingston SE, Mount Gambier
	Wolseley	190	120	continues as Western Highway (National Highway A8)	SA/Vic border, 25 km (16 mi) west of Kaniva, Victoria
Route transition

See also

• Highways in Australia
• Highways in Victoria
• List of highways in South Australia

References

1. Google (16 October 2014). "Dukes Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
2. "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.
3. "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.
4. "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.
5. "Dukes Highway pavement rehabilitation". AusLink. Retrieved 16 September 2006.
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. 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
10. Dukes Highway rated SA's deadliest, ABC, 20 Jan 2012.
11. David Nankervis (29 March 2013). "Two killed after B-double and car collide head-on along Dukes Highway". The Advertiser. News Limited. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
12. Glenn Power (11 February 2014). "Dukes Highway speed cameras almost ready". Murray Valley Standard. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
13. "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.
14. "Murray Mallee, Riverland" (PDF). Naming of State Rural Roads. Government of South Australia. 6 December 2013. Rack Plan 870. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
15. "South East" (PDF). Naming of State Rural Roads. Government of South Australia. 28 February 2011. Rack Plan 994. Retrieved 15 October 2014.