Dukes Highway

Dukes Highway South Australia
West end East end
Coordinates
General information
Type	Highway
Length	190 km (118 mi)
Route number(s)	National Highway A8
Former route number	National Highway 8
Major junctions
West end	Princes Highway (National Highway A1 / B1), Tailem Bend
	Mallee Highway (B12) Riddoch Highway (A66) Ngarkat Highway (B57)
East end	Western Highway (A8), SA/Vic border, 25 km (16 mi) west of Kaniva, Victoria
Location(s)
Major settlements	Coonalpyn, Keith, Bordertown
Highway system
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in South Australia

The Dukes Highway is a 189 kilometre highway corridor in South Australia which links the Australian cities of Adelaide and Melbourne. It is part of the National Highway system spanning Australia, and is signed as National Highway A8.

The Dukes Highway starts in Tailem Bend on the Princes Highway and extends southeast to the state border near Bordertown, South Australia. The highway continues in Victoria as the Western Highway, with the same route signage (National A8). The length of the highway on the South Australian side is around 191 km, joining onto the Western Highway which is 443 km.

Generally, the quality of the Dukes Highway is of a high standard, with the entire road having wide lane widths and sealed shoulder. The final 17 km of the highway after Bordertown, was originally built on unstable ground but was re-constructed in 2005.

The Dukes Highway runs along the northern side of the Limestone Coast region of South Australia. The route and many of the settlements (including Bordertown) were established in the 1850s to supply water to horses for the gold escorts from the Victorian goldfields to Adelaide.

Gold was taken to Adelaide rather than the closer Melbourne because a higher price was offered there. The higher price was offered to stop the South Australian economy from collapsing as all the labourers were heading to the Victorian Goldfields. The 'Bullion Act' was passed and an Assay office was established in Adelaide for the assaying and stamping of gold in 1852. It is claimed that this saved South Australia from bankruptcy.

Major road accidents

The Dukes highway accounts for one third of South Australia's road fatalities, many as head-on collisions, leading to calls for road improvements to separate traffic in each direction. Point-to-point speed cameras have been installed on one section of the highway to identify drivers who flaunt the speed limit. Parts of the highway have had wider centre lines installed with audio tactile treatment to help drivers to realise and recover from drifting across the centre line before they encounter an oncoming vehicle. This is intended to reduce fatigue and inattention-related crashes.

Motorists are advised to rest and recover at the many towns on the Dukes Highway, including Bordertown, Keith, Tintinara, Coonalpyn and Tailem Bend, where the Dukes Highway ends.

Major intersections

LGA	Location	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
District Council of The Coorong	Tailem Bend	0	0	Princes Highway (National Highway A1 / B1) – Tailem Bend, Adelaide
		3	1.9	Mallee Highway (B12) – Pinnaroo, Sydney
	Coonalpyn	61	38	McIntosh Way – Meningie
Tatiara District Council	Keith	125	78	Riddoch Highway (A66) - Naracoorte, Mount Gambier
	Cannawigara	161	100	Ngarkat Highway (B57) – Pinnaroo
	Bordertown	172	107	Naracoorte Road – Naracoorte, Kingston SE, Mount Gambier
	Wolseley	190	120	continues as Western Highway (National Highway A8)	SA/Vic border, 25 km (16 mi) west of Kaniva, Victoria
Route transition

See also

• Highways in Australia
• Highways in Victoria
• List of highways in South Australia