Type Freeway Route number(s) National Highway M20 | Opened 13 September 2010 Length 23 km | |
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NE end Gawler Bypass Road, Gawler, Adelaide SW end Port Wakefield Road, Waterloo Corner Major suburbs / towns Angle Vale, Andrews Farm, Macdonald Park, Penfield | ||
The Northern Expressway (route M20), also known as the Fatchen Northern Expressway, is a 23 kilometre long controlled-access highway in Adelaide, South Australia. It travels from Gawler (on National Highway A20, the Sturt Highway) to Port Wakefield Road (on National Highway A1). The road has been built to four-lane standard and provides a faster route between Adelaide and Gawler, whilst reducing the amount of traffic on Main North Road, which passes through the heart of the northern suburbs and is interspersed with frequent traffic lights. It also allows freight avoid residential areas and go straight to Port Wakefield Road and onto the Port River Expressway (A9) to reach the harbour at Port Adelaide.
Contents
Map of Northern Expy, South Australia, Australia
Cycling is not permitted on the Expressway. The Stuart O'Grady Bikeway is a sealed shared cycling and walking path adjacent to the eastern side of the expressway. The northern end connects to the on-ramp from Two Wells Road to the Gawler Bypass Road, and the southern end is adjacent to Port Wakefield Road at Mill Road.
History
The largest road project undertaken in South Australia in at least sixty years, the expressway was delivered at a cost of approximately $564 million jointly funded by the South Australian and Commonwealth Governments. The Design and Construct contract was awarded to the Fulton Hogan York Joint Venture, a partnership between trans-Tasman contractor Fulton Hogan and South Australian based York Civil. The design joint venture, managed by Fulton Hogan York Joint Venture consisted of Maunsell, SMEC and Dare Sutton Clark. The work included an 8 km upgrade of the existing Port Wakefield Road. Part of the cost was covered by the AusLink national transport funding.
Construction began in 2008 and the road opened on 13 September 2010.
The interchanges/bridges along the expressway were all named after famous battles in which Australian forces fought, such as Long Tan, Kokoda, Tobruk, Kapyong and Hamel.
In November 2013, one year after the death of prominent South Australian author and journalist Max Fatchen, the Northern Expressway was given the dual name "Fatchen Northern Expressway" in his honour.
Exit list
Route and Interchange list for Northern Expressway. Distances are calculated from Gawler Bypass end of Expressway
Proposed Northern Connector
In early 2008, the South Australian Government announced plans for the Northern Connector, an eight lane connector roadway, linking the Northern Expressway and South Road. This would involve the construction of a four-way cloverstack interchange at the Port River Expressway / South Road intersection. This project would also include a major diversion in the main ARTC interstate rail line, which would run down the middle of the new connector freeway between Dry Creek, South Australia and Taylors Road at Waterloo Corner.
The funding for the road and shared path components was announced in September 2015, with construction expected to start in 2016 for completion around 2019. The rail component is not funded at this stage.