COM: Northern Expressway | 22km

[Omicron]

We should organise a SensationalCyclethon

I'll meet y'all at the end for coffee and cake.

[drsmith]

Travelling down Port Wakefield Road on Thursday, works are progressing but there's still a lot to be done. One intersection widening to 6 lanes however is almost complete.

News about the NEXY is available in the current New Connections Newsletter:
http://203.147.248.196/alt-host/assets/ ... Aug_08.pdf

The image on page five appears to be the Port Wakefield Road passing over the top of what will be the Northern Connector with the railway line in the middle. The image however only shows Port Wakefield Road traffic travelling in one direction (south) either towards Gepps Cross or diverting right onto the northern connector towards Port Adelaide. This raises the question of how north bound traffic on Port Wakefield Road wll be catered for when the northern connector is built.

[drwaddles]

What I find a shame is that the particular section of Kings Road could be upgraded to A class standard like the section from Salisbury Highway to Main North Road although perhaps without the median strip. 4 lanes without a median strip could be easily accomodated if the 'private drives' were removed and the generous width between the road and the footpaths trimmed back beyond the drives. The round about at Kings/Martins Road is already 4 lane capable.

A-class in an urban context does not indicate the standard of road but its importance for stranger driver navigation.

Kings Road provides a valuable east-west link for navigation across northern Adelaide, hence why it gets the A18 route number.

The only correlation between the route number/class and the standard of the road is that roads designated as important links are more likely to be targeted for improvements than those who aren't.

[Cruise]

What number will the new Northern Expressway have?

would it be M20? seeing as it is replacing main north road (A20) as the major road in the northern suburbs?

[drwaddles]

I don't know. The logical answer would be M20, with Main North Road renumbered, but who knows?

Anyone want to email the DTEI?

[Cruise]

Because i was also thinking it might be M3, seeing as it would be Adelaide's 3rd freeway (the Southern Expressway was badged M2)

[drwaddles]

That's what AtD suggested when he made that map a few years ago.

From a driver navigation perspective, you would want through traffic to continue onto the Expressway from Sturt Highway, rather than head south along Main North Road and thus you would move the M20 marker onto the Expressway so that stranger drivers follow route 20.

The Southern Expressway is a little different - it couldn't take the number of the main route (A13) because it's not open to two-way traffic. it would be very confusing driving towards Adelaide from Victor Harbor only to see that A13 randomly ends and you need to follow A2 (Main South Road) to rejoin the A13 at Bedford Park. Damn silly one-way expressway!

[Norman]

Not much work has happened on the expressway, but Port Wakefield Road is progressing well. Photos and videos coming up soon (hopefully tonight).

[Norman]

Promised video:

[rhino]

Because i was also thinking it might be M3, seeing as it would be Adelaide's 3rd freeway (the Southern Expressway was badged M2)

The number 3 has already been granted to Cross Road. I doubt there would be an M3 and an A3. M20 would be more likely IMO.

I guess the next question will be "What number will the Port River Expressway have?". Considering the Northern Expressway will eventually be connected to the Port River Expressway via the Northern Connector, the whole lot may be given it's own designation. I notice the number 4 has not been used anywhere (that I can see).

[raulduke]

bulk earthworks should be underway from next month

[drwaddles]

Because i was also thinking it might be M3, seeing as it would be Adelaide's 3rd freeway (the Southern Expressway was badged M2)

The number 3 has already been granted to Cross Road. I doubt there would be an M3 and an A3. M20 would be more likely IMO.

I guess the next question will be "What number will the Port River Expressway have?". Considering the Northern Expressway will eventually be connected to the Port River Expressway via the Northern Connector, the whole lot may be given it's own designation. I notice the number 4 has not been used anywhere (that I can see).

Forgot about Cross Road. That definitely counts A3 out, Cruise.

Port River Expressway is already signed as A9 isn't it?

[rhino]

Port River Expressway is already signed as A9 isn't it?

Yes, you're right. Who knows what they will do? It seems to make sense, to me at least, to have the freight route from Gawler to Outer Harbor designated one number. Currently Victoria Road is A13, the Port River Expressway A9, the South Road - Salibury Highway connector A13. Maybe the whole route will become A9/M9. Why does the Port River Expressway not have an M designation? Nothing is particularly clear.

[DM8]

I was having a flick through some sites like http://www.auslink.gov.au and http://www.dtei.sa.gov.au... reading between the lines, it looks like they'll adjust the Auslink maps to remove Main North Road and cover just the Northern Expressway, which is fair enough I guess. But I also get the impression that, because the Northern Expressway is effectively (and has previously been referred to as) an extension of the Sturt Highway (National A20), does that mean it will be signed M20/A20? And if it does, what does Main North Road south of NExy then become?

One option - Main North Road, for about 40km's north of Gawler Belt is signed as A32, before A32 branches off and becomes the Barrier Highway to Broken Hill... perhaps when NExy is finished, A32 may be imposed on Main North Road south of Gawler Belt to Gepps Cross.

Not sure what they're going to do, but in any case, a change of route numbers means one heck of a lot of signs to change (and more $$$ in the process)

[Cruise]

Why does the Port River Expressway not have an M designation?

Because the Port River Expressway has a signalised intersection on it, and a bridge that opens and closes.