Adelaide to Melbourne Road Corridor

The Adelaide-Melbourne road corridor is a strategic route for South Australia, providing the major connection between Melbourne and Adelaide. The South Australian section runs for approximately 284 kilometres starting from Glen Osmond and consists of the South East Freeway, the Princes Highway and the Dukes Highway through to its end point at Bordertown near the Victorian border.

The following distinct roles have been identified for this road corridor:

it provides the primary freight linkage between Melbourne and Adelaide
it forms part of the broader link between the eastern states and Perth and Darwin
it provides an important link in the international transport chain for agriculture, mining and other export-oriented industries
it is the main connection between a large number of growing regional and rural communities and the capital cities of Melbourne and Adelaide
it forms an important link for tourism between Melbourne and Adelaide.

$100 million has been committed to improving the Adelaide to Melbourne road corridor in South Australia under the Australian Government’s Nation Building Program (2008-09 to 2013-14). Funding for this six year program comprises $80 million from the Australian Government for Dukes Highway improvements and $20 million from the State Government for improvements to the South Eastern Freeway and Princes Highway.

Adelaide to Melbourne Corridor Route Map

Adelaide to Melbourne Road Corridor Study

In 2007 the Australian Government developed a Melbourne-Adelaide Corridor Strategy in collaboration with the Victorian and South Australian Governments. The strategy provided guidance to decision makers and planners on the direction for development of the corridor over the next 20-25 years. In response, the department undertook an extensive study (Adelaide-Melbourne Road Corridor Study 2009) to determine appropriate treatments to address the aims of the strategy.

In recognition of the outcomes of the study, proposed treatments have been developed from the principles of the nationally agreed ‘Safe Roads System’ approach to road safety. This recognises the need for responsible road user behaviour but also accepts that human error is inevitable and endeavours to create a road system which reduces the likelihood that the consequences of driver error are serious injury or death.

The approach chosen for this project was to deliver a program of works made up of a range of treatments which would produce the most cost effective and wide spread improvements to safety along the whole length of the Dukes Highway.