Victor Harbor Road

Victor Harbor Road South Australia
General information
Type	Road
Length	50 km (31 mi)
Route number(s)
Major junctions
NW end	South Road, Old Noarlunga, South Australia
SE end	Port Elliot Road, Victor Harbor, South Australia
Location(s)
Major suburbs	Willunga, Mount Compass, Hindmarsh Valley
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The Victor Harbor Road (A13) is a major road in Adelaide, South Australia that runs south from Main South Road at Old Noarlunga in the southern Adelaide Metropolitan Area to Victor Harbor on the Fleurieu Peninsula. It bypasses the towns of McLaren Vale and Willunga, and passes through Mount Compass.^[1]

Route

From Old Noarlunga the road originally ran southeast to McLaren Vale then straight south to Willunga, before climbing the Willunga Escarpment with a steep, winding narrow section called 'Willunga Hill'. In the 1970s a diversion was constructed, bypassing McLaren Vale and Willunga to the west through the McLaren Vale vineyards, and including a new 4-lane section climbing the Willunga Escarpment of the Mount Lofty Ranges. The steep winding ascent of the old road (now known as 'Old Willunga Hill' to differentiate it from the newer road) is regularly featured as part of cycling events such as the Tour Down Under due to its challenging climb. After ascending the new 'Willunga Hill', the road levels and rejoins its old route, gently descending to the town of Mount Compass. Three kilometres further is the turnoff to the Mount Compass-Goolwa road. It is then 15 minutes through hilly terrain and across a short coastal plain to Victor Harbor.

Safety

Traffic on the road has increased in recent years due to the rapidly increasing population of the coastal towns between Victor Harbor and Hindmarsh Island, and an expanding local tourism industry. Because of this the road has had high numbers of fatalities; 14 people lost their lives and 163 people were injured during 2000-2004. Due to its local notoriety the road has had significant works since early 2004 with resurfacing, overtaking lanes, increased police attention and the reduction of speed limits.

The Royal Automobile Association (RAA) rated the highway at a 4.5/10 which means it failed to pass certain benchmarks. RAA believes that if the road is duplicated will improve safety on the road remarkably.^[2]

Upgrades

The southern end of Victor Harbor Road, where it joins South Road was for many years, a disaster of an intersection. Traffic travelling south would have to stop at the intersection, and wait until safe to turn right to South Road. South Road was often quite busy, and this caused congestion, with a line regularly reaching 500 metres, and sometimes even extending back a whole kilometre, to Robinson Road. Due to this, driver impatience was a regular occurrence, with many drivers turning in gaps too small, and being the cause of a number of crashes at the location. After this turn was made, traffic would join with the 1-lane South Road, which was also extremely busy at times, making it very difficult to merge left on Seaford Road. Between September 2009 and June 2010, major upgrades were undertaken at the intersection (as well as the South Road/Seaford Road/Patapinda Road intersection), greatly increasing safety at the intersection. The single lane and stop system was replaced with Victor Harbor Road and South Road both widening to 3 lanes, and having traffic lights at the intersection. This also increased the ease of turning onto Seaford Road. Heading south, Victor Harbor Road and South Road have both also been widened with an additional 3rd lane, giving 2 lanes for the turn onto Victor Harbor Road, as well as 2 lanes to continue on South Road.

The intersection of Victor Harbor Road and Main Road has also been notorious for fatal crashes. In 2011, construction started to build an overpass at the junction. The overpass will separate through traffic travelling along Victor Harbor Road from traffic turning right into and out of McLaren Vale. The overpass is expected to be completed in late 2012.

References

↑ "RACK PLAN 868 - Naming of State Rural Roads - Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula" (PDF). Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
↑ RAA Roadwatch Report

External links

Road Photos and Information Includes pictures of Victor Harbor Road before the 2009/10 upgrade.

Road infrastructure in Adelaide

Freeways	Port River Expressway South Eastern Freeway Southern Expressway Max Fatchen Expressway Northern Connector (proposed) North-South Motorway North-South Corridor (in progress)

Highways and major roads	Anzac Highway Gawler Bypass Road Glen Osmond Road Grand Junction Road Main North Road Main South Road Mount Barker Road North East Road Port Road Port Wakefield Road Portrush Road Salisbury Highway Sir Donald Bradman Drive South Road Victor Harbor Road

Arterials and other roads	Churchill Road City Ring Route Cross Road Daws Road Fullarton Road Goodwood Road Greenhill Road Hampstead Road Kensington Road Kings and McIntyre Roads Magill Road Marion Road Montacute Road Montague Road Panalatinga Road Prospect Road Tapleys Hill Road The Parade Regency Road Torrens Road Victoria Road

City streets	Angas Street East Terrace Carrington Street Currie Street Flinders Street Franklin Street Gilbert Street Gilles Street Gouger Street Grenfell Street Grote Street Halifax Street Hindley Street King William Street Morphett Street North Terrace Pirie Street Pulteney Street Rundle Mall Rundle Street South Terrace Sturt Street Wakefield Street Waymouth Street West Terrace Wright Street

Transport in Adelaide; List of numbered roads in Adelaide

Road infrastructure in South Australia

Freeways	Northern Expressway Port River Expressway South Eastern Freeway Southern Expressway

Interstate highways	Barrier Highway Dukes Highway Eyre Highway Mallee Highway Princes Highway Stuart Highway Sturt Highway

State highways	Augusta Highway Gawler bypass road Horrocks Highway Main South Road Port Wakefield Road Riddoch Highway Victor Harbor Road

Arterial roads	Adelaide–Mannum Road Barndioota Road Barossa Valley Way Birdseye Highway Browns Well Highway Cameron Highway Copper Coast Highway Flinders Highway Flinders Ranges Way Glenelg Highway Gorge Road Goyder Highway Horrocks Highway Karoonda Highway Lincoln Highway Ngarkat Highway Olympic Dam Highway Onkaparinga Valley Road Playford Highway RM Williams Way Southern Ports Highway Spencer Highway St Vincent Highway Strathalbyn Road Strathalbyn–Goolwa Road Thiele Highway Tod Highway Wellington Road Wilkins Highway Wimmera Highway Yorke Highway

Outback tracks	Anne Beadell Highway Birdsville Track Colson Track Gunbarrel Highway Mount Davies Road Oodnadatta Track Strzelecki Track

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