Port Road (and its northern section as Commercial Road through Port Adelaide) is a major road 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 ...

connecting the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ade ...

with

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 ...

. It is long, and is designated part of route R1 within central Adelaide, and beyond as route A7.

Route

Port Road starts at the north-western corner of the

, at the intersection of North Terrace and

West Terrace West Terrace is a populated place in the parish of Saint James, Barbados. The National Cultural Foundation of Barbados is located in West Terrace. See also * List of cities, towns and villages in Barbados This is a list of cities, towns and ...

, and heads northwest, turning north at

Thebarton Thebarton ( ), formerly Theberton, on Kaurna land, is an inner-western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of West Torrens. The suburb is bounded by the River Torrens to the north, Port Road, Adelaide, Port Road and Bonython Park to ...

to become part of the City Ring Route, before meeting Park Terrace at Hindmarsh and heading northwest again with its widened median, crossing the

North-South Motorway ''North-South'' ( hy, Հյուսիս-Հարավ) or ''Four Buddies and the Bride'' is an Armenian comedy directed by Davit Babakhanyan and Vazgen Muradyan, starring Diana Malenko, Sona Shahgeldyan and David Tovmasyan. The film was produced by ...

and heading through the suburbs of Woodville and

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, before it turns northwards at Alberton to cross

Grand Junction Road Grand Junction Road is the longest east–west thoroughfare in the Adelaide metropolitan area, traversing through Adelaide's northern suburbs approximately 8 kilometres north of the Adelaide city centre. Route Travelling from the Port Adelaide r ...

, changing name to Commercial Road and terminating not long afterwards in the centre of Port Adelaide.

History

The road includes a very wide

median strip The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also a ...

, giving a total width of approximately 70 metres. The original design was conceived soon after the establishment of Adelaide, was to accommodate a standard road and a canal, with the canal later replaced in the plans by a railway line. The canal and railway line were never created in the road allotment: the

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

when built in 1853 was built approximately 1 km to the east. Since the extension of the

Glenelg tram line The Glenelg tram line is a tram/ light rail line in Adelaide. Apart from a short street-running section in Glenelg, the line has its own reservation, with minimal interference from road traffic. The service is free in the city centre and a ...

in 2009–10, 200 metres of median strip at the city end is occupied by tram lines. Port road adelaide map

In the 1968

Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study The Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study, or "MATS Plan" as it became known, was a comprehensive transport plan released in 1968 proposing a number of road and rail transport projects for the metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia. It ...

(MATS plan) the road was destined to be upgraded to become the ''Port Freeway''. The plan fell through, yet in 2005 the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

announced a 600 m tunnel for

South Road South Road and its southern section as Main South Road outside of Adelaide is a major north–south conduit connecting Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula, in South Australia. It is one of Adelaide's most important arterial and bypass roads. As ...

below Port Road and the railway line. The Torrens Road to River Torrens project to upgrade South Road to include a free-flowing road in a trench under Port Road and several other intersections started construction in 2015 and was completed by the end of 2018. Some routes in Adelaide were renumbered in 2017. Port Road had been designated route A21 (city ring route) between West Terrace and Park Terrace. After the change, the West Terrace end is not numbered, and it bears route R1 (city ring route) between James Congdon Drive and Park Terrace.

Major intersections

References

External links

South Australian History: Port Adelaide
Roads in Adelaide {{Australia-road-stub