South Eastern Freeway

Infobox Australian Road
road_name = South Eastern Freeway
route_

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route_

route_

photo =
caption = Formerly
length = 66
direction = West-East
start =
finish =
est =
through = Stirling, Bridgewater, Hahndorf, Mt. Barker, Callington
route =
exits = Mount Barker Road (Princes Highway)
Adelaide Road

The South Eastern Freeway is a 66 kilometre four-lane divided carriageway road in South Australia linking the Adelaide-Crafers Highway to the Princes Highway at the Swanport Bridge, a one kilometre long bridge over the River Murray, near Murray Bridge. The Adelaide-Crafers Highway and South Eastern Freeway are seamlessly connected with minimal signage to distinguish them - as a result they are generally considered by South Australians to be a single road, usually referred to simply as "the Freeway", as it was the first freeway in South Australia, and is still the longest. It is a part of the National Highway network linking Adelaide to Melbourne and signed as National Highway M1. The three roads mentioned above constitute part of the primary road link between the state capital cities of Adelaide and Melbourne - the other components are the Dukes Highway and Western Highway.

History

Prior to the initial construction of the freeway in the 1960s, all inbound and outbound road traffic to south-eastern South Australia and to Victoria had to travel on 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 incurred with the precedent upgrade of the Mount Barker Road.

Road construction began in 1965 from Crafers and the first stage of eastbound traffic lanes were opened in 1967, the first westbound section in 1969.

The opening of the freeway resulted in the less direct Bridgewater railway line losing patronage and eventually closing to passengers in 1987.

The Freeway bypasses many towns previously along the Princes Highway including
*Murray Bridge
*Monarto
*Callington
*Kanmantoo
*Nairne
*Littlehampton
*Mount Barker
*Hahndorf
*Verdun
*Bridgewater
*Aldgate
*Stirling
*Crafers

Connections

The Adelaide end of the South Eastern Freeway flows seamlessly into the Adelaide-Crafers Highway, which replaced a narrower road contoured to the Adelaide Hills in 2000.

The southeastern end of the freeway, near Murray Bridge feeds onto the Swanport Bridge, a two-lane one kilometre long bridge over the River Murray, where it joins the Princes Highway, a dual-carriageway highway to Tailem Bend. At this point Highway 1 becomes a two-laned, two-way scenic route which passes the coastal towns of South Australia and Victoria. The National Highway continues to Melbourne as the Dukes Highway (A8) from Tailem Bend to the Victorian border and beyond as the Western Highway.

Exits and Intersections

ee also

*Highway 1
*Highways in Australia
*Highways in South Australia
*Freeways in Australia
*Freeways in South Australia

*Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study

References