Northern Expressway, also known as the Fatchen Northern Expressway,
is a 21 kilometre long
controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. Since March 2020, the
North–South Motorway
The North–South Motorway is a partially complete motorway traversing the inner western suburbs of Adelaide from Waterloo Corner in the north to Bedford Park in the south. Progressively constructed in stages since 2010, once complete it will ...
continues west of Port Wakefield Highway and intersects the
Port River Expressway
Port River Expressway is a freeway-grade road. The expressway links Port Adelaide and the LeFevre Peninsula across the north-western suburbs of Adelaide to major interstate routes via North-South Motorway.
The expressway is only grade-separate ...
to reach the harbour at
Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...
. These are the northernmost two parts of the
North–South Corridor.
Cycling is not permitted on the Expressway. The
Stuart O'Grady Bikeway
The Stuart O'Grady Bikeway is a shared path in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, following the eastern side of the Max Fatchen Expressway. The northeastern end is adjacent to the on ramp from Two Wells Road to the Gawler Bypass. The southwes ...
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
Gawler Bypass is a major north–south route in the outer northern suburbs of the city of Adelaide, South Australia, connecting Main North Road to the Sturt Highway, bypassing Gawler. The route was built in 1963 in an attempt to redirect traffi ...
, and the southern end is adjacent to Port Wakefield Road at Mill Road.
Route
Northern Expressway commences at the grade-separated interchange with
Sturt Highway
Sturt Highway is an Australian national highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight between Sydney and Adelaide and the regions situated adjacent to the r ...
in
Gawler
Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...
and heads southwest, just beyond the northern fringes of suburban Adelaide, to
Port Wakefield Highway
Port Wakefield Highway (and its southern section as Port Wakefield Road) is an important South Australian highway, connecting Adelaide to the Yorke Peninsula, Port Augusta, northern and western South Australia, the Northern Territory and Weste ...
in
Waterloo Corner. The road has been built to four-lane standard and provides a faster route between northern Adelaide and Gawler, relieving pressure mostly from
Main North Road
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. It continues north through the settled areas of South Australia and is a total of long, fro ...
and other roads through Adelaide's northeastern suburbs. It also allows freight vehicles to avoid residential areas and go straight to Port Wakefield Road.
History
The largest road project undertaken in South Australia in at least sixty years, the expressway was delivered at a cost of approximately jointly funded by the
South Australian
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
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
Fulton Hogan is a large infrastructure construction, roadworks and aggregate supplier company in New Zealand, which is also active in wider Australasia.
The company was founded by Julius Fulton and Robert Hogan in Dunedin in 1933. In 2013 the ...
and South Australian based
York Civil
York Civil was a South Australian construction and civil engineering company based in Adelaide, South Australia. It was founded in 1990 by Ian Tarbotton, who remains an owner and director along with Dominic Vieceli. It began with only 10 employe ...
. 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
Port Wakefield Highway (and its southern section as Port Wakefield Road) is an important South Australian highway, connecting Adelaide to the Yorke Peninsula, Port Augusta, northern and western South Australia, the Northern Territory and Wester ...
. 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
Kokoda is a station town in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea. It is famous as the northern end of the Kokoda Track, site of the eponymous Kokoda Track campaign of World War II. In that campaign, it had strategic significance because it had the ...
,
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near th ...
,
Kapyong and
Hamel.
In November 2013, one year after the death of prominent South Australian author and journalist
Max Fatchen
Maxwell Edgar Fatchen, AM (3 August 192014 October 2012) was an Australian children's writer and journalist.
Early life
Fatchen was born at "Narma" private hospital, South Terrace, Adelaide, the only son of Cecil William Fatchen and Isabel ...
, the Northern Expressway was given the dual name "Fatchen Northern Expressway" in his honour.
In December 2019, a
Catastrophic bushfire started on the Northern Expressway at
Angle Vale
Angle Vale is a semi-rural town on the Adelaide Plains between Gawler and Virginia in South Australia. It is steadily being surrounded by Adelaide's suburban sprawl. It is close to many vineyards and farms. The town includes Trinity College's Gaw ...
, This affected people in
Hillier,
Munno Para Downs
Munno Para Downs is a northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Playford.
The suburb was named in 1983 from part of the district of Munno Para. The boundaries were adjusted in 2011 after the construction of the Northern Express ...
,
Kudla,
Munno Para West
Munno Para West is a northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is within the City of Playford
The City of Playford is a local government area of South Australia in Adelaide's northern suburbs. It was named in recognition of Sir Thoma ...
and
Gawler
Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...
.
In February 2020, the on ramp from northbound on Port Wakefield Road was permanently closed. Three weeks later, the Northern Connector project was opened, continuing the freeway south from the Northern Expressway as the
North–South Motorway
The North–South Motorway is a partially complete motorway traversing the inner western suburbs of Adelaide from Waterloo Corner in the north to Bedford Park in the south. Progressively constructed in stages since 2010, once complete it will ...
.
Exit list
See also
*
Freeways in Australia
Australian Capital Territory Canberra region
* Majura Parkway
Other freeways (no route number)
* Adelaide Avenue
* Yarra Glen
* Capital Circle
* Gungahlin Drive Extension
* Parkes Way
* Tuggeranong Parkway
Gallery
File:Highw ...
*
Freeways in South Australia
References
{{Road infrastructure in South Australia
Highways in Australia
Roads in Adelaide
Freeways and highways in Adelaide