Sturt Highway

Sturt Highway
Proposed to replace in NSW
Length	947 km (588 mi)
Direction	West-East
From	Northern Expressway, Gawler, South Australia
via	Nuriootpa, Renmark, Mildura, Balranald, Hay, Narrandera, Wagga Wagga
To	Hume Highway, Tarcutta, New South Wales
Allocation	Gawler - NSW/Vic. Border: Formerly NSW/Vic. Border - Hume Highway:
Major junctions	Barrier Highway Barossa Valley Highway Calder Highway Silver City Highway Murray Valley Highway Mid-Western Highway via Cobb Highway Kidman Way Newell Highway Olympic Highway

The Sturt Highway is an Australian highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is part of the Auslink National network and is part of the main highway route between Sydney and Adelaide.

Route

The Sturt Highway commences at its junction with the Hume Highway near Gundagai south west of Sydney. The Highway heads more or less due west, passing through the northwest of Victoria before entering South Australia. It links the cities of Wagga Wagga and Mildura and the towns of Narrandera, Hay, Balranald, Renmark, Blanchetown, Berri, Nuriootpa and Gawler.

In Victoria and South Australia the highway carries the National Route number A20, while in New South Wales it is simple National Route 20. The route changes to the M20 at Gawler and continues from Gawler Bypass Road south towards the A1 along the Northern Expressway.

Upgrades

South Australia

None of the Sturt Highway was constructed as dual-carriageway, however work is currently underway to upgrade the highway to freeway standards between the Gawler Bypass and Greenock in the Barossa Valley. The 1st stage of this project is now completed, with the opening of the 3 kilometre Daveyston-Greenock section. Duplication of the remaining 17 kilometers between Gawler and Daveyston is expected to be completed by the end of 2009.

The Sturt highway was extended by 22 km from Gawler southwest to meet Port Wakefield Road (National Route A1) at Waterloo Corner as part of an AusLink/South Australian Government project to build a new dual-carriageway/freeway standard road known as the Northern Expressway. This will provide better access for road transport to Port Adelaide and the industrial areas west and northwest of the city. Now completed this has essentially made the Sturt Highway dual-carriageway/freeway standard between Adelaide and the Barossa Valley.

Other projects in South Australia include: a number of overtaking lanes have also been added in recent years to help make it safer with the high volume of traffic. Major 'S'-bend curves near Waikerie have been realigned, and further upgrades to the road are planned up to 2009.

Victoria

There is also the proposed Mildura Truck Bypass, to be funded by Auslink 2.

Bridges

The Sturt Highway is named after Charles Sturt, who explored south western New South Wales, the Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers and also parts of the deserts of central Australia in the 1820s and 1830s. The highway crosses the Murrumbidgee at Balranald having followed that river for much of the route from the Hume Highway, and crosses the Murray a total of four times:

• At Mildura over a high arched bridge
• At Paringa (near Renmark) over a lift-span bridge which used to have a railway through the middle as well as the road carriageway on each side
• At Kingston over a high bridge from an embankment on the right bank to the cliffs on the left bank
• At Blanchetown over another high bridge to cliffs on the right bank.

Connections

Sturt and Olympic Highway intersection

As well as linking with the Hume Highway, the Sturt Highway connects with:

• the Olympic Highway at Wagga Wagga
• the Newell Highway at Narrandera
• the Kidman Way at Waddi
• the Cobb and Mid-Western Highway at Hay
• the Murray Valley Highway east of Euston
• the Silver City Highway at Buronga
• the Calder Highway at Mildura
• the Barossa Valley Highway at both Nuriootpa and Gawler.
• the Barrier Highway / Main North Road at Gawler

Towns on the Sturt Highway

New South Wales

• Forest Hill
• Gumly Gumly
• Wagga Wagga
• Narrandera
• Darlington Point
• Hay
• Balranald
• Euston
• Gol Gol
• Buronga

Victoria

• Mildura
• Merbein South
• Cullulleraine

South Australia

• Barmera
• Blanchetown
• Gawler
• Greenock
• Kingston
• Monash
• Nuriootpa
• Paringa
• Renmark
• Truro
• Waikerie
• Yamba

Gallery

• 

  Sturt Highway marked as A20 near Gumly Gumly

• 

  Sturt Highway through Wagga Wagga, New South Wales

• 

  The Sturt Highway through Truro, South Australia

• 

  B-Double Truck on the Sturt Highway.

See also

• Highways in Australia
• Highways in Victoria
• List of highways in New South Wales
• List of highways in South Australia
• Main North Road
• Gawler Bypass Road