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South Eastern Freeway is a
freeway 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 ...
in
South Australia 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 ...
(SA). It is a part of the
National Highway National highway or National Highway may refer to: * National Highways (England) * National Highway (Australia) * List of National Roads in Belgium * Brunei National Roads System * National Highway System (Canada) * Trans ...
network linking the state capital cities of
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 ...
, SA, and
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
,
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
, and signed as National Highway M1. It carries traffic over the Adelaide Hills between Adelaide and the
River Murray The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...
, near Murray Bridge, where it is connected via the
Swanport Bridge Swanport Bridge is a road bridge that carries Highway 1 across the Murray River, located approximately southeast of the town of Murray Bridge in South Australia, Australia. Opened on 30 May 1979 by transport minister Geoff Virgo, the bridge con ...
to the
Dukes Highway Dukes Highway is a 190 kilometre highway corridor in South Australia which is part of the link between the Australian cities of Adelaide and Melbourne. It is part of the National Highway system spanning Australia, and is signed as route A8. Ro ...
, which is the main road route to Victoria. It was formerly signposted as
Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former alignments of the hi ...
, which refers to the coastal route from
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 ...
to
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
via
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
. It is often referred to by South Australians simply as the Freeway, as it was the first freeway in South Australia, and is still the longest, and the only one with "Freeway" in its name rather than "Expressway" or "Highway". The South Eastern Freeway includes twin-tube tunnels (the Heysen Tunnels) in the descent towards Adelaide, the first of their kind on the National Highway.


Route

South Eastern Freeway commences at the intersection with Glen Osmond Road, Cross Road and
Portrush Road Portrush Road is a major arterial route through the eastern suburbs of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. This name covers many consecutive streets and is not widely known to most drivers except for the southernmost section, as the entire ...
in Glen Osmond and heads southeast as a six-lane, dual-carriageway route. As it traverses across - and through, in one section, via the Heysen Tunnels - the Adelaide Hills, and due the fact the freeway is a major freight route, it also features arrester beds and concrete median barriers, with street lighting between Glen Osmond and Crafers. The freeway narrows to four lanes just before it bypasses Crafers, and continues in a south-easterly direction, past
Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
, Hahndorf and Mount Barker, before narrowing further to a two-lane, single-carriageway, crossing the
Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...
over the
Swanport Bridge Swanport Bridge is a road bridge that carries Highway 1 across the Murray River, located approximately southeast of the town of Murray Bridge in South Australia, Australia. Opened on 30 May 1979 by transport minister Geoff Virgo, the bridge con ...
, to terminate just east of the crossing in Long Flat, south-east of Murray Bridge.


History

Prior to the initial construction of the freeway in the 1960s, inbound and outbound road traffic between Adelaide and south-eastern South Australia or
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
used a two-lane highway originally built in the early part of the 20th century. With growth in Adelaide's population issues of congestion and safety mandated reconstruction. Studies began in 1962 for a freeway commencing from Crafers, that endpoint selected arguably due to the massive expenditure required with the precedent upgrade of the
Mount Barker Road Mount Barker Road was once the main road from Adelaide through the Adelaide Hills to Mount Barker on the eastern slopes of the Mount Lofty Ranges. The main route has now been replaced, or subsumed into, the South Eastern Freeway, but two sectio ...
.
Road construction A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
began in 1965 from Crafers and the first stage of eastbound traffic lanes were opened in 1967, the first westbound section in 1969. The freeway was opened in stages as construction progressed. The final section bypassing the town of Murray Bridge and connecting to the new
Swanport Bridge Swanport Bridge is a road bridge that carries Highway 1 across the Murray River, located approximately southeast of the town of Murray Bridge in South Australia, Australia. Opened on 30 May 1979 by transport minister Geoff Virgo, the bridge con ...
over the River Murray opened in 1979, providing an alternative to the historic bridge in the town for through traffic. The Adelaide–Crafers Highway extension came as a much-needed upgrade and replacement to the previous link road, the Mount Barker Road, which had been contoured to the Adelaide Hills, giving rise to many steep turns, ascending a tortuous route. The tightest
hairpin turn A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal ha ...
on the Mount Barker Road was infamous as the ''Devil's Elbow'', often the site of car and
semi-trailer A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. In the United States, the term is also used to refer to the combination of a truck and a semi-trailer; a tractor-trailer. A large proportion of a semi-trailer's weight is supported by a trac ...
accidents. On 16 May 1995, Prime Minister
Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...
announced the construction of the new Adelaide-Crafers section. The Heysen Tunnels, named after well-known South Australian artist and benefactor
Hans Heysen Sir Hans Heysen (8 October 18772 July 1968) was a German-born Australian artist. He became a household name for his watercolours of monumental Australian gum trees. He is one of Australia's best known landscape painters. Heysen also produced ...
, were completed in 1998. Construction was completed early 2000 and on 5 March 2000, Prime Minister
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
opened the new road. It was the largest
South Australian 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 ...
road project at that time, costing a total of A$151 million, wholly funded by the
Australian Federal Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...
. An additional exit was built at Monarto around 1999 to service an expanding commercial zone and
Monarto Zoo Monarto Safari Park, formerly known as Monarto Zoological Park and Monarto Zoo, is a open-range zoo located in South Australia administered by the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia. It is located at Monarto, approximately from Adel ...
in the area. Another exit was announced in 2014 at Bald Hills Road 4 km southeast of the Mount Barker interchange to service growing housing estates in southern Mount Barker and Nairne. The contract was announced on 1 April 2015 that Bardavcol would commence construction in May 2015, with the interchange including entry and exit ramps in both directions. The $27M project was funded $16M by the Australian government, $8M from South Australia and $3M from Mount Barker district council. The new interchange opened on 15 August 2016. The Freeway bypasses many towns previously along the
Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former alignments of the hi ...
including *
Eagle On The Hill Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...
* Crafers *
Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
*
Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...
* Bridgewater *
Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...
* Hahndorf * Mount Barker *
Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort, and pleasure harbour, and the most populous civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south sout ...
* Nairne * Kanmantoo *
Callington Callington ( kw, Kelliwik) is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston. Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had ...
* Monarto * Murray Bridge


Road safety

Shortly after the Adelaide-Crafers section opened, several incidents involving semi-trailers drew media attention to the road. While the previous Mount Barker Road was a notorious stretch, its dangers were well known; the new freeway presented the new challenge of a sustained continuous gradient with traffic lights at the bottom. Heavy vehicles with inadequate braking found it hard to slow down once they had exceeded a certain speed; this was made worse with brake failures. It took some time, and the addition of several warning signs prior to the descent, for heavy vehicles to become familiar with the freeway's characteristics. Semi-trailers can be seen travelling as slow as 20–30 km/h downhill. In 2005 changeable electronic road signs were installed every 200 metres, so that the speed limit of the road can be adjusted from Transport SA headquarters 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 ...
. This has both improved safety for commuters, and emergency service workers like the Country Fire Service. In 2010 and 2011, after more incidents involving trucks having problems successfully braking down the hill, including one going into a bus stop, and another going straight through the intersection at the bottom, the government added new laws that any vehicle with 5 axles or more must stay in the left lane and must not exceed a 60 km/h limit from the interchange at Crafers to the old tollhouse. More Safety cameras are installed in an attempt to ensure trucks abide by this new limit. Additional signs for the two arrester beds on the descent have also been added, to encourage out of control drivers to use them as a safer alternative. In August 2014, another truck collided with many cars at the lower part of the highway, killing two people. The sewage truck ran away after the driver, a new employee who had never driven a manual truck before and had never driven any vehicle on this segment of road, lost control after passing the arrestor beds. Driver Darren Hicks was seriously injured and testified against employer
Cleanaway {{Infobox company , name = , logo = Cleanaway logo.png , type = , traded_as = {{{ASX, CWY , fate = , successor = , founded = 1979 , founder = Brambles , defunct ...
at a criminal trial after being granted immunity. The prosecution, brought by
Comcare Comcare is a statutory authority of the Australian Federal Government established under the ''Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act'' 1988health and safety Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wo ...
legislation.


Connections

The Adelaide end of the South Eastern Freeway leads downhill to traffic lights at the intersection of Glen Osmond Road which continues northwest as route number A1 into 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 Ad ...
,
Portrush Road Portrush Road is a major arterial route through the eastern suburbs of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. This name covers many consecutive streets and is not widely known to most drivers except for the southernmost section, as the entire ...
north to bypass the city and towards Port Adelaide, and Cross Road which leads west towards the southern suburbs of Adelaide. The southeastern end of the freeway, near Murray Bridge feeds onto the
Swanport Bridge Swanport Bridge is a road bridge that carries Highway 1 across the Murray River, located approximately southeast of the town of Murray Bridge in South Australia, Australia. Opened on 30 May 1979 by transport minister Geoff Virgo, the bridge con ...
, a two-lane, bridge over the
River Murray The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...
, where it joins the
Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former alignments of the hi ...
, a dual-carriageway highway to
Tailem Bend Tailem Bend (locally, "Tailem") is a rural town in South Australia, south-east of the state capital of Adelaide. It is located on the lower reaches of the River Murray, near where the river flows into Lake Alexandrina. It is linear in layout s ...
. At this point,
Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...
becomes a two-laned, two-way scenic route which passes through many coastal towns of South Australia and Victoria. The National Highway continues to Melbourne as the
Dukes Highway Dukes Highway is a 190 kilometre highway corridor in South Australia which is part of the link between the Australian cities of Adelaide and Melbourne. It is part of the National Highway system spanning Australia, and is signed as route A8. Ro ...
(A8) from Tailem Bend to the Victorian border and beyond as the Western Highway.


Exits and intersections


Gallery

Image:Heysentunnel.jpg, Eastern Portal of the Heysen tunnel on the revamped freeway. File:Adelaide–Crafers Highway 1.jpg, Driving towards Murray Bridge on Adelaide–Crafers Highway. File:Adelaide–Crafers Highway 2.jpg, Adelaide–Crafers Highway on a foggy day. Image:SEFreewayAdelaideCrafers.jpg, Adelaide–Crafers Highway at Crafers. Image:Devil's Elbow.JPG, Eagle on the Hill is directly above the tunnel entrance, with the old road winding round from Devil's Elbow.


See also

*
Highway 1 (Australia) Australias Highway 1 is a network of highways that circumnavigate the country, joining all mainland capital cities except the national capital of Canberra. At a total length of approximately it is the longest national highway in the world, sur ...
* Highway 1 (South Australia) *
Highways in Australia Highways in Australia are generally high capacity roads managed by state and territory government agencies, though Australia's federal government contributes funding for important links between capital cities and major regional centres. Prio ...
* Highways in South Australia * Freeways in Australia * Freeways in South Australia * Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study


References


External links


Ozroads: South Eastern Freeway
{{Road infrastructure in South Australia Highways in South Australia Roads in Adelaide Freeways and highways in Adelaide Highway 1 (Australia)