Augusta Highway is the part of Australia's ring route (Highway 1) located in South Australia between Port Wakefield and Port Augusta.

Augusta Highway

Sign at the northern end of the Highway
Augusta Highway is located in South Australia
North end
North end
South end
South end
Coordinates
General information
TypeHighway
Length208.1 km (129 mi)[1]
Gazetted2011[2]
Route number(s) A1 (2017–present)
Former
route number
National Highway A1
(2011–2017)
Major junctions
North end Eyre Highway
Port Augusta, South Australia
 
South end Port Wakefield Highway
Port Wakefield, South Australia
Location(s)
RegionFar North, Yorke and Mid North[3]
Major settlementsPort Germein, Port Pirie, Crystal Brook, Snowtown
Highway system

Route

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Augusta Highway starts at the intersection with Eyre and Stuart Highways in Port Augusta West, then crosses the northern section of Spencer Gulf into central Port Augusta. It continues in a southerly direction as a single-carriageway highway with occasional overtaking lanes past Port Germein, Port Pirie, Crystal Brook and through Snowtown until it eventually meets Copper Coast Highway just north of Port Wakefield, where it continues south as Port Wakefield Highway.

History

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It was named Augusta Highway in 2011,[2][4] and was formerly known simply as Highway One[2] (and also as Princes Highway, despite not being continuous to Princes Highway in the southeast of the state). When a Highway Naming Committee was formed around 1999, there were proposals for the highway to become part of Eyre Highway, or named Wakefield Highway.[5]

Upgrades

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Following the 2018 South Australian state election, upgrades were announced for both ends of the Augusta Highway. At the northern end, the Joy Baluch AM Bridge across Spencer Gulf at Port Augusta is to be duplicated to improve safety for both local and highway traffic. At the southern end, the contract for detailed design and construction of the duplication of the highway through Port Wakefield and a grade-separated intersection with the Copper Coast Highway was let in March 2020. Both projects were contracted to the Port Wakefield to Port Augusta Alliance (a consortium of CPB Contractors, Aurecon and GHD Group),[6][7] with the government announcing an overpass for the intersection with Copper Coast Highway in 2021.[8] Construction on both projects commenced in late 2020, with completion expected in 2022;[6] the overpass to Copper Coast Highway opened in December 2021, four months ahead of schedule.[9]

As finishing works were continuing around Port Wakefield, a new project started to duplicate the highway from the Copper Coast Highway to the southern side of Lochiel.[10]

Major intersections

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LGA[11]Location[1][12]km[1]miDestinationsNotes
Port AugustaPort Augusta West0.00.0  Eyre Highway (A1 west) – Kimba, Ceduna, to Western AustraliaNorthern terminus of Augusta Highway, route A1 continues west along Eyre Highway
  Stuart Highway (A87 north) – Pimba, Coober Pedy, to the Outback and Northern Territory
Spencer Gulf0.8–
1.5
0.50–
0.93
Joy Baluch AM Bridge
Port AugustaPort Augusta1.71.1Trans-Australian Railway
3.82.4Adelaide–Port Augusta railway line
Stirling North8.25.1  Flinders Ranges Way (B83) – Quorn, Hawker
Winninowie23.214.4  Horrocks Pass Road (B56) – Wilmington
Mount RemarkablePort Germein64.940.3Port Germein Road – Port Germein
65.540.7Adelaide–Port Augusta railway line
68.042.3Germein Gorge Road – Murray Town
68.842.8Port Germain Road – Port Germein
Port PirieNapperby86.954.0  Spencer Highway (B89) – Port Pirie, Wallaroo, Minlaton
Bungama90.556.2Warnertown Road – Port Pirie
Warnertown101.262.9  Wilkins Highway (B79) – Laura, Gladstone
Crystal Brook108.667.5  Goyder Highway (B64) – Crystal Brook, Burra, Morgan, Renmark
109.267.9Adelaide–Port Augusta railway line
115.371.6Venning Road – Crystal Brook, Gladstone
Merriton120.775.0Clements Road – Port Broughton
WakefieldSnowtown161.1100.1Condowie Plain Road – Brinkworth, Blyth
163.2101.4Barunga Gap Road – Bute, Kadina
Lochiel179.3111.4Ninnes Road – Paskeville, Moonta
179.6111.6Blyth Road – Blyth, Clare
Port Wakefield208.1129.3  Copper Coast Highway (B85 west) – Kadina, WallarooTrumpet Interchange
  Port Wakefield Highway (A1 south) – AdelaideSouthern terminus of Augusta Highway, route A1 continues south along Port Wakefield Highway
  •       Route transition

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Augusta Highway" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Highway One gets a change of name". Plains Producer. 19 August 2011. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Location SA Map viewer with regional layers". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Proposed naming of rural roads" (PDF). Department for Infrastructure and Transport. March 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Highway name change proposal". Port Lincoln Times. Port Lincoln: National Library of Australia. 23 November 1999. p. 5. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Port Wakefield Overpass and Highway Duplication". Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  7. ^ McCormack, Michael (1 March 2020). "PORT WAKEFIELD AND JOY BALUCH UPGRADES ARE SIGNED, SEALED AND SOON TO BE DELIVERED" (PDF) (Press release). Retrieved 9 May 2020 – via Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure.
  8. ^ "New overpass to open at notorious Port Wakefield traffic nightmare spot | 7NEWS - YouTube". YouTube.
  9. ^ "CPB Contractors delivers Port Wakefield Overpass four months ahead of schedule". CPB Contractors. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  10. ^ Curtis, Aidan (7 January 2022). "The Augusta Highway is set for upgrades between Lochiel and Port Wakefield". The Transcontinental. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Location SA Map viewer with LGA layers". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Location SA Map viewer with suburb layers". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
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