Road Photos & Information: South Australia: Dukes Highway (National Highway A8)

Road Photos & Information: South Australia

Dukes Highway (A8) - Coonalpyn to Keith

Statistics:

Length: 189 km (Coonalpyn to Keith: 65 km)
Northern Terminus: Princes Highway (A1 / B1) at Tailem Bend
Southern Terminus: SA-Vic Border near Wolseley
Miscellaneous: Continues as A8 into Victoria
Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along The Route: Culburra, Tintinara, and Keith.

Route Numbering:

Current: A8

Former:
Road Authority Internal Classification: 07800 1

General Information:

The Dukes Highway forms part of the main route between Adelaide and Melbourne, and is funded under the Federal Government's Auslink road funding scheme. 2

The Dukes Highway is heavily trafficked by more than 2000 vehicles daily. Around 45 per cent of vehicles are commercial and articulated vehicles. 3

The route is mostly undivided single carriageway with 1 lane in each direction, except for some overtaking lanes.

History:

March 2009: Work commences on the installation of safety barriers and guardrails at locations of high risk hazards, including unprotected embankment drop offs, on the Dukes Highway between Tailem Bend and the Victorian border. 4
April 2009: Work commences on increasing the length of each of the overtaking lanes from 1.3 kilometres to 1.6 kilometres between Tailem Bend and Keith. 5 Work commences on the upgrade of the roadside rest area two kilometres west of Culburra (serving west bound traffic). The upgrades include sufficient capacity to store up to eight B doubles at any one time, amenities (including two separate shelters and bins), a sealed carriageway through the rest area and sealed deceleration and acceleration lanes for entry to and exit from the rest area. 6
September 2009: Completion of the installation of safety barriers and guardrails between Tailem Bend and the Victorian border. A total of 4.46 kilometres of wire rope barriers were installed at ten sites and a total of 1.03 kilometres of w-beam guardrails were installed at a further two sites. 7
2011: A safety program to remove trees close to the road. The tree clearing established a five to six metre clear zone along both sides of the road. Trees were also removed in preparation for the construction of four new overtaking lanes and an extension to an existing overtaking lane. The tree removals were undertaken at the following locations: 5 kilometres east of Tailem Bend, 5 kilometres west of Coomandook, 2 kilometres west of Tintinara and 17 kilometres west of Bordertown. Trees were also removed between Bordertown and the Victorian border and at a 30 kilometre section near Keith. 8
2012: South Australia's first audible road markings installed on Dukes Highway. Also as part of the line-marking works, a 1.2 metre gap between centre lines was provided to allow drivers to recover and return to their lane before they cross into the path of oncoming traffic. A total of 39 kilometres of the centreline treatment was installed; 21 km between Tailem Bend to Coomandook, 5 km between Coomandook to Bordertown and 13 km between Bordertown to the Victorian border. Installation of overtaking lanes; 5 kilometres east of Tailem Bend, 3 kilometres west of Coomandook, 2 kilometres west of Tintinara and 15 kilometres west of Bordertown, plus the addition of two sheltered right turn lanes, located at the Mundulla and Sherwood junctions and pavement reconstruction works between the Pinnaroo turnoff and Meatworks Road junction. 9
July 2013: A further 52 kilometres of road widening and audible strips installed along Dukes Highway between Yumali and Bordertown. 10

Keith to Coonalpyn		Coonalpyn to Keith
Preview:	Description:	Preview:	Description:
	Intersection Directional Sign: ID sign facing Makin St, Keith, December 2001. Image © Jamie Scuglia		Entering Culburra: Dukes Hwy as it enters the village of Culburra, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Keith, approaching Riddoch Hwy (A66), December 2013. Image © Michael Greenslade		Culburra: Dukes Hwy as it passes through Culburra, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
	Black Reassurance DIerctional Sign: Black distance sign at Keith, December 2001. Image © Jamie Scuglia		Service Sign: Services sign at Tintinara, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Diagrammatic Services Sign: Sign showing the location of services in the town of Tintinara, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Entering Tintinara: Dukes Highway as it enters the town of Tintinara, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Advance Directional Sign: AD sign approaching Long St in Tintinara, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Long Street Intersection: Corner of Dukes Hwy and Long St, Tintinara, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Advance Directional Sign: AD sign in Tintinara approaching Helling Tce and Fullwood Av, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Helling Terrace and Fullwood Avenue Intersection: Dukes Hwy at the juction with Helling Tce and Fullwood Av in Tintinara, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Distance Sign: RD sign as you leave the town of Tintinara, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			No Overtaking Next 3km: Signage indicating that there is no overtaking for the next 3km, at a somewhat curvy section of the Dukes Highway near Tintinara, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Approaching Heavy Vehicle Checking Station: Sign indicating distance to the Heavy Vehicle Checking Station near Tintinara, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Traffic Cameras: Gantry with traffic cameras used to monitor heavy vehicles, similar to the Safe-T-Cam system used in NSW. Tintinara, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Heavy Vehicle Checking Station: The heavy vehicle checking station, southeast of Tintinara, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Services Sign: Services sign at Keith, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Entering Keith: Council sign as you enter the outskirts of Keith, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Advance Directional Sign: AD sign approaching Riddoch Hwy (A66) at Keith, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Riddoch Highway Intersection: Corner of Dukes Hwy (A8) and Riddoch Hwy (A66) at Keith, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Distance Sign: RD sign after the Riddoch Hwy intersection in Keith, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Entering Keith Town Centre: Entering the urban area of Keith, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Advance Directional Sign: AD sign for the junction with Emu Flat Road in Keith, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Emu Flat Road Intersection: Corner of Dukes Hwy and Emu Flat Rd, Keith, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Advance Directional Sign: AD sign approaching the intersection with Makin Street in Keith, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Makin Street Junction: Intersection with Makin St in Keith, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Intersection Directional Sign: ID sign facing traffic from Makin Street, Keith, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
			Distance Sign: RD sign as you leave the town of Keith, October 2009. Image © Paul Rands
Click here for the continuation of A8 between Keith and the Victorian Border Click here for the continuation of A8 between Coonalpyn and Tailem Bend

1 Transport SA State Route Numbers Map, May 2003
2 South Australian Public Works Committee, Dukes Highway Rehabilatation Bordertown to the Victorian Border report
3 Transport SA News & Media Releases, Stage 2 of $15 Million Dukes Highway upgrade to start, 25 August 2005
4 Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Projects, Dukes Highway Upgrade - Roadside Hazard Mitigation, 16 October 2009
5 Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Projects, Dukes Highway Upgrade - Overtaking Lane Extensions, 16 October 2009
6 Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Projects, Dukes Highway Upgrade - Roadside Rest Areas Upgrade, 16 October 2009
7 Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Projects, Dukes Highway Upgrade - Roadside Hazard Mitigation, 16 October 2009
8 Government of South Australia, Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, News, Safety improvements along Dukes Highway, 12 Sep 2011
9 Government of South Australia, Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, News, State's first 'audio lines' on Dukes Highway, 06 Dec 2011
10 Government of South Australia, Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, News, 85km of audible strips installed along Dukes, 15 Jul 2013

Last updated: 05-Jan-2020 8:45

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