Main North Road is the major north-south arterial route through the suburbs north of 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 ...

in the city 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 ...

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 ...

. It continues north through the settled areas of South Australia and is a total of long, from North Adelaide to out of Port Augusta. It follows the route established in the early years of the colony by explorer John Horrocks and was a major route for farmers and graziers to reach the capital, passing through rich farmland and the

Clare Valley wine region Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

. In 2011, the section of road between Gawler to Wilmington was renamed Horrocks Highway.

Route

Main North Road branches from the northern end of O'Connell Street ( North Adelaide) and passes through the Adelaide Parklands and the suburbs of Thorngate, Medindie, Medindie Gardens,

Nailsworth Nailsworth is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, lying in one of the Stroud Valleys in the Cotswolds, on the A46 road (the Roman Fosse Way), south of Stroud and about north-east of Bristol and Bath. The parish had a popula ...

, Prospect, Sefton Park, Blair Athol and

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

before reaching the major intersection at Gepps Cross. Here the road forks, with the

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 ...

(A1 - National Highway 1) continuing to the north, and the Main North Road turning northeast and continuing as route A20. It continues through the outer northern suburbs, passing Mawson Lakes and Salisbury, crossing the

Little Para River The Little Para River is a seasonal creek running across the Adelaide Plains in the Australian state of South Australia, whose catchment fills reservoirs that supply some of the water needs of Adelaide’s northern suburbs. Course and features ...

and passing

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

and Smithfield before entering

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 Gawler, it crosses the South Para and North Para Rivers, and the Barossa Valley Way branches to the east between them. Just north of Gawler, it passes under the Sturt Highway which heads east to the

Barossa Valley The Barossa Valley (Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major wine-producing region and tourist destina ...

Riverland The Riverland is a region of South Australia. It covers an area of along the River Murray from where it flows into South Australia from New South Wales and Victoria downstream to Blanchetown. The major town centres are Renmark, Berri, Loxt ...

, northern

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

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. This is where the name Horrocks Highway takes over from the historic name of Main North Road. The environment changes from the urban environment to undulating land, mostly cleared for grain cropping. Several of the towns have grain storage bunkers or silos. It crosses the Light River then crosses and follows the Gilbert River to where the

Barrier Highway Barrier Highway is a highway in South Australia and New South Wales, and is designated part of route A32. The name of the highway is derived from the Barrier Ranges, an area of moderately high ground in the far west of New South Wales, through w ...

branches northeast towards Riverton and Burra. Over the next ridge, it crosses the

Wakefield River The Wakefield River is an ephemeral river that flows to an estuary in the Australian state of South Australia. Course and features The river rises above , flowing southward, passing the towns of Watervale and Auburn, where it is fed by seve ...

and enters the southern end of the Clare Valley. The dominant scenery changes from grain crops to grapevines from Auburn to Clare, then returns to grain fields again north of the Hutt River as it passes through the Southern

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabit ...

. It crosses the Broughton River near Yacka and on to Wilmington at the eastern side of Horrocks Pass. As the Horrocks Highway is in the valley between the southern

and northern

Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and ...

, it is in the relatively wetter climate south of

Goyder's Line Goyder's Line is a line that runs roughly east–west across South Australia and, in effect, joins places with an average annual rainfall of . North of Goyder's Line, annual rainfall is usually too low to support cropping, with the land being sui ...

Horrocks Highway

Main North Road from Wilmington to Gawler Belt was renamed to Horrocks Highway in 2011 to honour John Horrocks, an early explorer and pioneer in the region. However while Main North Road turns west in Wilmington through Horrocks Pass to join the Augusta Highway as route B56, Horrocks Highway continues north beyond Wilmington as route B82 to

Quorn Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products, or the company that makes them. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 14 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin. Quorn is sold as b ...

Commuter route

In the metropolitan area, the road is a major commuter route to the central business district in 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 ...

. The portion of Main North Road between the city centre and Mawson Lakes is a 15-minute public transport 'Go Zone', with the maximum wait for a bus being 15 minutes during peak times (7:30 am – 6:30 pm weekdays) and 30 minutes on weekends and evenings. Bus routes via Main North Road generally begin with the prefix "22x". The bus service is provided by SouthLink for

Adelaide Metro Adelaide Metro is the public transport system of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is an intermodal system offering an integrated network of bus, tram, and train service throughout the metropolitan area. The network has an ann ...

Route numbers

From north to south, the route numbers used along the road are: * B56 from

Stirling North Stirling North is a town located east of Port Augusta in the Australian state of South Australia. The now abandoned Marree railway line forms the official border line separating the two towns. Primarily, Stirling North is a satellite town to Po ...

, south-east of Port Augusta to Wilmington, where route B56 follows Willowie Road to Peterborough; * B82 from Wilmington through the Clare Valley and the northern fringes of

; * B19 through Gawler, where B19 follows Barossa Valley Way through the

wine region; * A20 from the southern fringes of Gawler to Gepps Cross, in the northern suburbs of Adelaide * A1 from Gepps Cross to North Adelaide. In late 2010 when the Northern Expressway was completed, National Highway A20 was diverted to the new road as National Highway M20. Main North Road and the southern section of the Gawler Bypass Road were then designated as route A52. In late 2016, the Northern Expressway was designated M2, and the designation of Main North Road was reverted back as route A20 to Gepps Cross.

Major intersections

References