View source for Sturt Highway

{{Short description|Australian national highway}}
{{Distinguish|Stuart Highway}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2011}}
{{Infobox Australian road
| type         = highway
| road_name    = Sturt Highway
| state        = sa
| state2       = nsw
| image        = Red B-double truck.jpg
| caption      = [[Road train#B-double|B-double truck]] on Sturt Highway
| location     = Location Sturt Hwy.svg
| length       = 947
| length_ref   = <ref name="gmaps">{{google maps|url=https://www.google.com.au/maps/dir/-34.593163,138.7303901/-35.2174331,147.7950757/@-35.2220908,147.7926308,16.27z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m10!3m4!1m2!1d140.6747734!2d-34.2246361!3s0x6ac72a7a52ec0e1f:0x1af555ba3837be00!3m4!1m2!1d142.1621456!2d-34.1852872!3s0x6ac3036da99918a3:0x1bfdeb88af576d24!1m0!3e0?hl=en |title=Sturt Highway |access-date=10 October 2021}}</ref>
| gazetted     = August 1928 {{small|(NSW, as Main Road 58)}}<ref name="nswgovgaz28">{{cite news |title=Main Roads Act, 1924-1927 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/219952359 |work=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |issue=110 |via=National Library of Australia |date=17 August 1928 |pages=3814–20 |access-date=1 August 2022 |archive-date=3 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803050207/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/219952359 |url-status=live }}</ref><br />August 1933 {{small|(NSW, as State Highway 14)}}<ref name="sadec">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92497638 |title=State's Chief Highways Named. |newspaper=[[The Chronicle (Adelaide)|The Chronicle]] |location=Adelaide |date=16 June 1938 |access-date=9 September 2014 |page=47 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref><br />July 1938 {{small|(SA)}}<ref name="sturtsa">{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/35588682 |title=NEW MAIN ROADS SCHEDULE |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]] |location=Adelaide |date=15 June 1938 |page=25 |publisher=National Library of Australia |access-date=31 October 2022 }}</ref><br />1939 {{small|(VIC)}}<ref name="MR20-1">{{cite news |url=https://media.opengov.nsw.gov.au/pairtree_root/87/16/eb/dc/47/00/44/6f/af/b6/67/ac/a7/7d/06/05/obj/Sep_1954.pdf |title=Historical Roads of New South Wales |newspaper=NSW Main Roads |location=Sydney |date=September 1954 |pages=10–4 |publisher=OpenGov NSW}}</ref>
| route        = {{AUshield|SA|A20}} A20 {{small|(2013/2017–present)}}
| former       = {{plainlist|
*{{AUshield|N|A20}} National Highway A20 {{small|(1997/1998–2013/2017)<br />(Gawler–VIC/NSW border)}}
*{{AUshield|NH|20}} National Highway 20 {{small|(1992–1997/1998)<br />(Gawler–VIC/NSW border)}}
*{{AUshield|NH|20}} National Highway 20 {{small|(1992–2013)<br />(VIC/NSW border–Tarcutta)}}
*{{AUshield|NR|20}} National Route 20 {{small|(1955–1992)<br />Entire route}}
}}
| direction_a  = West
| direction_b  = East
| coordinates_a = {{coord|-34.915676|138.622745|type:landmark_region:AU-SA|display=inline}}
| coordinates_b = {{coord|-34.977201|138.627219|type:landmark_region:AU-SA|display=inline}}
| alternative_location_map = nomap
| end_a        = {{AUshield|SA|A20}} '''[[Gawler Bypass]]'''<br />{{small|[[Gawler, South Australia]]}}
| end_b        = {{AUshield|NSW|M31}} '''[[Hume Highway]]'''<br />{{small|[[Tarcutta, New South Wales]]}}
| exits        = {{plainlist|
*{{AUshield|SA|M2}} [[Northern Expressway]]
*{{AUshield|SA|A32}} [[Barrier Highway]]
*{{AUshield|SA|B19}} [[Barossa Valley Way]]
*{{AUshield|SA|B64}} [[Goyder Highway]]
*{{AUshield|VIC|A79}} [[Calder Highway]]
*{{AUshield|NSW|B79}} [[Silver City Highway]]
*{{AUshield|NSW|B75}} [[Cobb Highway]]
*{{AUshield|NSW|B87}} [[Kidman Way]]
*{{AUshield|NSW|A39}} [[Newell Highway]]
*{{AUshield|NSW|A41}} [[Olympic Highway]]}}
| region       = [[Barossa Light and Lower North]], [[Murray and Mallee]],<ref name="SARegions">{{cite web |url=https://location.sa.gov.au/viewer/?map=hybrid&x=136.19383&y=-32.61774&z=7&uids=20 |title=Location SA Map viewer with regional layers |publisher=[[Government of South Australia]] |accessdate=16 June 2022}}</ref> [[Regions of Victoria#Loddon Mallee|Loddon Mallee]],<ref name="VICRegions">{{cite web |url=https://www.rdv.vic.gov.au/victorias-regions |title=Victoria's Regions |work=Regional Development Victoria |publisher=[[Victoria State Government]] |date=11 August 2021| accessdate=16 June 2022}}</ref> [[Far West (New South Wales)|Far West]], [[Riverina]], [[South Western Slopes]]
| through      = {{SAcity|Nuriootpa|Renmark}}, {{VICcity|Mildura}}, {{NSWcity|Balranald|Hay|Narrandera|Wagga Wagga}}
| show_links2  = Vic
}}
'''Sturt Highway''' is an Australian [[National Highway (Australia)|national highway]] in [[New South Wales]], Victoria, and [[South Australia]]. It is an important [[Road transport|road link]] for the transport of passengers and [[Truckload shipping|freight]] between [[Sydney]] and [[Adelaide]] and the regions along the route.<ref>{{cite map |title=Australia Road and 4WD Atlas|last=Hema |first=Maps|year=2007 |publisher=Hema Maps|location=Eight Mile Plains Queensland|isbn=978-1-86500-456-3|pages=32-33, 69, 71}}</ref>

Initially an amalgam of [[trunk route]]s, the Sturt Highway was proclaimed a state highway in NSW in 1933. In 1955, the route was allocated a National Route number (20). It was included in the National Highway system in 1992, forming the Sydney-Adelaide Link. Sturt Highway is allocated as route A20 for its entire length, the majority of which is a [[single carriageway]], and freeway standard and 6-lane arterial road standard towards its western terminus in Gawler.<ref name="Ozroads">{{cite web|title=Sturt Highway|work=Ozroads|url=http://www.ozroads.com.au/NSW/Highways/Sturt/sturt.htm|access-date=25 May 2008}}{{Self-published source|date=October 2013}}</ref>

==Route==
The highway is the shortest, highest-standard route between Sydney and Adelaide. It runs generally east–west, roughly aligned to the southern bank of the [[Murrumbidgee River]] in New South Wales. Following that river's [[confluence]] with the [[Murray River]], it is then roughly aligned to the Murray through north-western Victoria and eastern South Australia, before it heads towards the northern outskirts of Adelaide.<ref name="Ozroads"/>

The eastern terminus of Sturt Highway is at a [[road junction|junction]] with Hume Highway at [[Tarcutta]], near [[Gundagai]]. Heading west, the highway passes through the city of [[Wagga Wagga]] and the towns of [[Narrandera]], [[Darlington Point]], [[Hay, New South Wales|Hay]], [[Balranald, New South Wales|Balranald]], and [[Euston, New South Wales|Euston]], leaving New South Wales by crossing the Murray River into Victoria from [[Buronga, New South Wales|Buronga]] to [[Mildura]]. The highway continues more or less due west through the northwest of Victoria before entering South Australia. In South Australia, Sturt Highway passes [[Renmark, South Australia|Renmark]], [[Monash, South Australia|Monash]], [[Barmera, South Australia|Barmera]], [[Waikerie, South Australia|Waikerie]], [[Blanchetown, South Australia|Blanchetown]] and [[Nuriootpa, South Australia|Nuriootpa]], before reaching its western terminus at the interchange with [[Gawler Bypass]] and [[Northern Expressway]] on the outskirts of [[Gawler, South Australia|Gawler]].

==History==
The route now known as Sturt Highway originated from stock routes cut across southern New South Wales through the 19th century: overlanders would travel from Sydney's Main South Road (now [[Hume Highway]]) to [[Albury]], and follow along the southern bank of the [[Murray River]] to [[Adelaide]]. [[Edward John Eyre]], the English explorer, travelled from Limestone Plains (now [[Canberra]]) to Adelaide via this route in 1837, as did [[Charles Sturt]] in 1838. Eyre on his second run to South Australia headed west, following the northern bank of the [[Murrumbidgee River]] instead, crossing it at its junction with the Murray close to [[Boundary Bend, Victoria|Boundary Bend]], and travelled to Adelaide from there.<ref name="MR20-1" /> The road pioneered by Eyre in 1839 left Hume Highway at [[Gundagai]] and followed the northern bank of the Murrumbidgee through the sites of Wagga Wagga, Narrandera, Hay and Balranald, and the north bank of the Murray River through the sites of Euston and [[Wentworth, New South Wales|Wentworth]], passing north of [[Lake Victoria (New South Wales)|Lake Victoria]] to the border with South Australia and onwards to Renmark. By 1852 a mail service by horseback operated from Wagga Wagga as far west as Balranald.<ref name="MR20-1" />

The route used by coaches between Wagga Wagga and the South Australian border as late as 1914 ran along the northern bank of the Murrumbidgee to Darlington Point – a bridge was built across the river in 1905, replacing a punt service operating from 1886 – and then continued along the river's southern bank to Hay, crossing the river again (a bridge in Hay was opened in 1874 by Sir [[Henry Parkes]], replacing a ferry service operating since the 1850s).<ref name="MR20-1" /> The route then travelled the northern side of the Murrumbidgee through [[Maude, New South Wales|Maude]] and Balranald and onwards to Adelaide. By 1919 the route from Hay had been altered to travel the river's southern bank to Maude, before departing the water course for a more-direct route to Balranald, crossing the river there by a bridge opened in 1876.<ref name="MR20-1" /> By 1928, the route had shifted south of the Murrumbidgee River between Tarcutta and Narrandera.

The passing of the ''Main Roads Act of 1924''<ref>[http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/mra1924n24133/ State of New South Wales, ''An Act to provide for the better construction, maintenance, and financing of main roads; to provide for developmental roads; to constitute a Main Roads Board''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811000905/http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/mra1924n24133/ |date=11 August 2022 }} 10 November 1924</ref> through the [[Parliament of New South Wales]] provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the [[Main Roads Board]] (later [[Transport for NSW]]). Main Road No. 4 was declared along this road from the intersection with [[Hume Highway]] from Lower Tarcutta to Wagga Wagga (and continuing eastwards via Tumut, Adaminaby, Cooma, and Bega to Tathra) as part of '''Monaro Highway''',<ref name="nswgovgaz28" /> Main Road No. 6 was declared from Balranald via Euston and Wentworth to the state border with South Australia (and continuing eastwards via Oxley, Booligal, Gunbar, Rankins Springs, Wyalong and Cowra to Bathurst) as part of '''Mid-Western Highway''',<ref name="nswgovgaz28" /> and Main Road No. 58 was declared from Hay via Narranderra to Wagga Wagga (and continuing westwards via Maude to Oxley),<ref name="nswgovgaz28" /> on the same day, 8 August 1928. With the passing of the ''Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929''<ref>[https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/pdf/asmade/act-1929-15 State of New South Wales, ''An Act to amend the Main Roads Act, 1924-1927; to confer certain further powers upon the Main Roads Board; to amend the Local Government Act, 1919, and certain other Acts; to validate certain payments and other matters; and for purposes connected therewith.''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812065622/https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/pdf/asmade/act-1929-15 |date=12 August 2022 }} 8 April 1929</ref> to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, these were amended to State Highways 4 and 6 and Trunk Road 58 on 8 April 1929.

Mid-Western Highway was rerouted between Gunbar and Balranald to pass through Hay, and the western end of Trunk Road 58 was truncated to meet it at Hay, on 24 September 1929.<ref name="nswgovgaz29">{{cite news |title=Main Roads Act, 1924-1929 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/223023849 |work=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |issue=132 |publisher=National Library of Australia |date=4 October 1929 |page=4084 |access-date=26 August 2022 |archive-date=26 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826133146/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/223023849 |url-status=live }}</ref> The route of the main road from Narrandera to Darlington Point had shifted to the southern side of the river at this stage, thus following the present route east from Balranald. On 16 September 1930, the road between Wagga Wagga and Hay (Trunk Road 58) was named '''Sturt Trunk Road''',<ref name="nswgovgaz30">{{cite news |title=Main Roads Act, 1924-1929 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/223054080 |work=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |issue=139 |publisher=National Library of Australia |date=19 September 1930 |page=3707 |access-date=26 August 2022 |archive-date=26 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826131955/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/223054080 |url-status=live }}</ref> in honour of Captain [[Charles Sturt]] who explored the area a century earlier and opened it up for agriculture.

The [[Department of Main Roads (New South Wales)|Department of Main Roads]], which had succeeded the MRB in the previous year, declared '''Sturt Highway''' as State Highway 14 on 8 August 1933, from the intersection with [[Hume Highway]] at Lower Tarcutta via Wagga Wagga, Hay, Balranald, Euston and Wentworth to the state border with South Australia, subsuming the existing portions of Monaro Highway (State Highway 4) between Wagga Wagga and Lower Tarcutta, Sturt Trunk Road (Trunk Road 58) from Wagga Wagga to Hay, and Mid-Western Highway (State Highway 6) from Hay to the state border with South Australia.<ref name="nswgovgaz33">{{cite news |title=Main Roads Act, 1924-1931 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/219977219 |work=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |issue=131 |publisher=National Library of Australia |date=25 August 1933 |pages=3093 |access-date=26 August 2022 |archive-date=26 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826121015/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/219977219 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="DMR">{{cite web | url=http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/environment/downloads/heritage/rta_thematic_history.pdf | title=RTA Thematic History |edition=2nd | publisher=[[Roads & Traffic Authority]] | date=February 2006 | access-date=23 July 2013 | author=Kass, Terry | pages=84}}</ref> eventually to Adelaide via Renmark;<ref name="sadec" /> the western end of Monaro Highway (today [[Snowy Mountains Highway]]) was truncated to meet Hume Highway in Tarcutta, and the western end of Mid-Western Highway was truncated to meet Sturt Highway in Hay, as a result.<ref name="nswgovgaz33" /> On 1 July 1938, the South Australian government decreed "the road from Gawler through Blanchetown to the border beyond Renmark will be known as the Sturt Highway", to join with the same road in New South Wales.<ref name="sturtsa" />

In 1939,<ref name="MR20-1" /> Sturt Highway was rerouted to run via [[Mildura]], using the former alignment of [[Murray Valley Highway]], to make it the most direct route to Adelaide. Murray Valley Highway had been constructed in 1927 to provide a shorter, all-weather road connection between Mildura and Renmark,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article109365437|title=THE MURRAY VALLEY ROAD|newspaper=[[Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record]]|location=Renmark, SA |date=18 November 1927|access-date=17 June 2014|page=6|publisher=[[National Library of Australia]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article109369778|title=MURRAY VALLEY ROAD|newspaper=[[Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record]]|location=Renmark, SA|date=6 April 1928|access-date=24 June 2014|page=4|publisher=[[National Library of Australia]]}}</ref> and was declared a State Highway by the [[Country Roads Board]] of Victoria in September 1932.<ref name="CRB20AR">{{cite news |url=https://vgls.sdp.sirsidynix.net.au/client/search/asset/1286149 |title=Country Roads Board Victoria. Twentieth Annual Report: for the year ended 30 June 1933 |newspaper=Country Roads Board of Victoria |location=Melbourne |date=10 November 1933 |pages=4, 6 |publisher=Victorian Government Library Service}}</ref>

Sturt Highway was signed National Route 20 across its entire length in 1955. The [[Whitlam government]] introduced the federal ''National Roads Act 1974'',<ref name=NRA1974>{{cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|nra1974151|National Roads Act 1974}}</ref> where roads declared as a National Highway were still the responsibility of the states for road construction and maintenance, but were fully compensated by the Federal government for money spent on approved projects.<ref name=NRA1974 />{{rp|S7}} As an important interstate link between the capitals of New South Wales and South Australia, Sturt Highway was declared a [[National Highway (Australia)|National Highway]] in 1992. With all three states' conversion to their newer alphanumeric systems between the late 1990s to the early 2010s, its former route number was updated to A20 for the highway within Victoria (in 1997), South Australia (in 1998), and eventually the New South Wales section (in 2013).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/projects/key-build-programs/alpha-numeric/nsw-factsheet.pdf |title=Road number and name changes in NSW |work=[[Roads & Maritime Services]] |publisher=Government of New South Wales |date=2012 |access-date=7 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325194425/http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/projects/key-build-programs/alpha-numeric/nsw-factsheet.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The passing of the ''Roads Act of 1993''<ref>[https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1993-033 State of New South Wales, ''An Act to make provision with respect to the roads of New South Wales; to repeal the State Roads Act 1986, the Crown and Other Roads Act 1990 and certain other enactments; and for other purposes.''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811000905/http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/mra1924n24133/ |date=11 August 2022 }} 10 November 1924</ref> through the [[Parliament of New South Wales]] updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Sturt Highway today retains its declaration as Highway 14, from the intersection with Hume Highway north of Tarcutta to the bridge over the Murray River at Mildura.<ref name="nswroadsched">{{cite web |url=https://roads-waterways.transport.nsw.gov.au/business-industry/partners-suppliers/lgr/documents/classified-roads-schedule.pdf |title=Schedule of Classified Roads and Unclassified Regional Roads |author=[[Transport for NSW]] |date=August 2022 |publisher=Government of New South Wales |access-date=1 August 2022 |archive-date=25 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825104657/https://roads-waterways.transport.nsw.gov.au/business-industry/partners-suppliers/lgr/documents/classified-roads-schedule.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The passing of the ''Road Management Act 2004''<ref name="roadact">{{cite web |author=State Government of Victoria |title=Road Management Act 2004 |url=https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-08/04-12aa062%20authorised.pdf |publisher=Government of Victoria |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018233332/https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-08/04-12aa062%20authorised.pdf |archivedate=18 October 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=19 October 2021 }}</ref> through the [[Parliament of Victoria]] granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to [[VicRoads]]: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared '''Sturt Highway''' (Arterial #6610) from the border with [[South Australia]] at [[Murray-Sunset, Victoria|Murray-Sunset]] to the border with [[New South Wales]] in [[Mildura, Victoria|Mildura]].<ref name="vicreg">{{cite web |author=VicRoads |title=VicRoads – Register of Public Roads (Part A) 2015 |url=https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/-/media/files/documents/utilities/about-vr/acts-and-regulations/register-of-public-roads---part-a-v-2015.ashx?la=en&hash=116BE6FB86F506FF0B5BAFBEA45FCD6C |format=PDF |publisher=Government of Victoria |page=1002 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501042521/https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/-/media/files/documents/utilities/about-vr/acts-and-regulations/register-of-public-roads---part-a-v-2015.ashx?la=en&hash=116BE6FB86F506FF0B5BAFBEA45FCD6C |archivedate=1 May 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=19 October 2021 }}</ref>

==Upgrades==
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2014}}

===South Australia===
None of the Sturt Highway was originally constructed as [[dual-carriageway]]. Work began in January 2007 to upgrade the highway to a four-lane, dual-carriageway road between [[Gawler Bypass]] and [[Greenock, South Australia|Greenock]] in the Barossa Valley. The project was completed in 2010 with budget savings directed towards further Sturt Highway improvements.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dtei.sa.gov.au/infrastructure/sturt_highway_upgrade/content/news |title=Sturt Highway Upgrade |access-date=15 July 2008 |publisher=[[Department for Infrastructure & Transport|Department of Transport, Energy & Infrastructure]] |date=25 August 2008}}</ref>

[[Northern Expressway]] was built at the south-western end of Sturt Highway, as part of an [[AusLink]]/[[Government of South Australia]] project to build a new freeway-standard road, as part of the [[North–South Corridor, Adelaide|North–South Corridor]] project, providing better access for road transport to [[Port Adelaide]] and the industrial areas west and northwest of Adelaide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dtei.sa.gov.au/infrastructure/northern_expressway |title=Northern Expressway |access-date=13 September 2008 |publisher=[[Department for Infrastructure & Transport|Department of Transport, Energy & Infrastructure]]|date=11 September 2008}}</ref>

Other projects in South Australia include a number of [[passing lane|overtaking lane]]s added in the 2000s and 2010s to help make it safer with the high volume of traffic.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.auslink.gov.au/projects/natnet/sa/snh010.aspx |title=Sturt Highway – Riverland passing lanes |access-date=11 June 2006 |publisher=Department of Transport and Regional Services |work=[[AusLink]] |date=20 July 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070518215757/http://www.auslink.gov.au/projects/natnet/sa/snh010.aspx |archive-date=18 May 2007  }}</ref> Major 'S'-bend curves near [[Waikerie, South Australia|Waikerie]] were realigned, and further upgrades to the road were performed up to 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://investment.infrastructure.gov.au/projects/ProjectDetails.aspx?Project_id=SA248 |title=Sturt Highway – Upgrading Program |access-date=12 September 2014 |publisher=Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development |work=[[AusLink]] |date=15 October 2012}}</ref>

====Significant route changes====
The original route of Sturt Highway in the [[Riverland]] passing through [[Berri, South Australia|Berri]] and [[Glossop, South Australia|Glossop]] was bypassed to pass through [[Monash, South Australia|Monash]] in 1995. The former alignment is now known as the ''Old Sturt Highway'', route B201. The original route passed through the middle of the [[Barossa Valley]], along what is now the [[Barossa Valley Way]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137233312 |title=THE LOWER MURRAY. |newspaper=[[The Riverine Grazier]] |location=Hay, NSW |date=15 February 1949 |access-date=9 September 2014 |page=1 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref name="map">{{Citation | author1=South Australia. Highways and Local Government Dept | author2=South Australian Government Tourist Bureau | title=South Australia showing main road system and important district roads | publication-date=1950 | publisher=Highways & Local Government Dept. : M.E. Sherrah, Government photolithographer | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/15601413 | access-date=30 January 2015 }}</ref> This first changed to a route passing to the north of [[Nuriootpa, South Australia|Nuriootpa]], around to the north and west of Gawler on the [[Gawler Bypass]] and [[Main North Road]] to [[Gepps Cross]]. It later changed to use the [[Northern Expressway]] instead. A realignment in the 1990s led to it bypassing [[Daveyston]] and [[Shea-Oak Log]] instead of passing through these small towns.

When the [[Northern Expressway]] and [[Northern Connector]] were assigned as route M2, route A20 reverted to following [[Main North Road]] south to [[Gepps Cross]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://location.sa.gov.au/viewer/?map=roads&x=139.78161&y=-34.51238&z=10&uids=135 |work=Location SA Map Viewer |title=Road Route Numbers |access-date=18 September 2020}}</ref>

====Truro bypass====
A new alignment is proposed to be built to the north of the town of [[Truro, South Australia|Truro]], to remove the highway traffic from the main street of the town. The bypass is proposed to be funded by the Australian government for $161.6 million and state government $40.4 million. Construction is expected to start late in 2022 and be completed by the end of 2026.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://investment.infrastructure.gov.au/projects/ProjectDetails.aspx?Project_id=113683-20SA-NP |title=Truro Bypass |publisher=[[Australian Government]] [[Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications]] |access-date=17 March 2022}}</ref> The project will adjust the alignment to reduce the steep hill between the Murray Flats and Truro. It will be built to a standard suitable for triple [[road train]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dit.sa.gov.au/infrastructure/road_projects/truro_bypass_project |title=Truro Bypass Project |publisher=[[Government of South Australia]] [[Department for Infrastructure and Transport]] |access-date=17 March 2022}}</ref>

===Victoria===
There is a proposed Mildura Truck Bypass, to be funded by Auslink 2.<ref>[http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/DOI/DOIElect.nsf/$UNIDS+for+Web+Display/6EC7CF1A0CF9A6F4CA2573A800158D34/$FILE/AusLink2_SturtHighwayMildura.pdf Mildura Truck Bypass – Auslink 2(PDF)]</ref>

==Major river crossings==
From east to west, the Sturt Highway follows much of the course of the Murrumbidgee River, on its southern banks, from the Sturt's eastern terminus with the [[Hume Motorway]]. At {{NSWcity|Balranald}}, the Sturt Highway crosses the Murrumbidgee, carrying the highway to the north of the river via the Balranald Bridge.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=1164&cmd=sp|title=Map of Balranald, NSW|work=Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia|access-date=2 April 2015}}</ref>

To the west and south-west, Sturt Highway [[Murray River crossings|crosses the Murray]] four times:

*Between Buronga and Mildura, carrying the highway to the south of the Murray over the [[George Chaffey Bridge]], a high concrete-girder bridge that was opened in 1985.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=heritage.show&id=4301083|title=George Chaffey Bridge over Murray River, Mildura|work=Heritage and conservation register|publisher=[[Roads & Maritime Services]], Government of New South Wales|date=17 April 2009|access-date=2 April 2015}}</ref> 
* Between {{SAcity|Paringa}} and Renmark, carrying the highway to the north of the Murray over the [[Paringa Bridge]], a [[Lift bridge|lift-span bridge]] which used to have a railway through the middle as well as vehicle carriageways on each side.<ref name="sa memory">{{cite web|url=http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=1360 |title=The river as a highway: Crossing the Murray |work=SA memory |publisher=[[State Library of South Australia]], Government of South Australia |date=31 March 2010 |access-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331154956/http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=1360 |archive-date=31 March 2015  }}</ref> 
*Between {{SAcity|Cobdogla}} and [[Kingston On Murray, South Australia|Kingston On Murray]], carrying the highway to the south of the Murray over the Kingston Bridge, a high bridge from an embankment on the right bank to the cliffs on the left bank.<ref name="sa memory"/> 
*At Blanchetown, carrying the highway from east to west over the Murray, as the river flows south, over the Blanchetown Bridge, another high bridge to cliffs on the river's western bank.<ref name="sa memory"/>

The bridge at Blanchetown was originally opened in 1964.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Official opening of Blanchetown Bridge by the Honourable Sir Thomas Playford G.C.M.G., M.P., Premier of South Australia, on Friday, 24th April, 1964 : souvenir|publication-date=1964 |work=Highways Department|publisher=Government of South Australia|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/20963857|access-date=8 September 2014 }}</ref> It replaced cable ferries, and was itself replaced in 1998<ref>{{cite web|title=From one side to the other, to commemorate the opening of the new bridge, November 1998|publication-date=1998| publisher=Blanchetown Bulletin Committee | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/17570359 | access-date=8 September 2014 }}</ref> in response to concern about its ability to continue to carry [[B-double]] trucks. The bridge at Kingston On Murray was opened in 1973,<ref>{{cite web|title=Official opening, Kingston Bridge, River Murray by His Excellency the Governor Sir Mark Oliphant, K.B.E. 21st. Feb., 1973 | publication-date=1973 |work=Highways Department|publisher=Government of South Australia|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/36357057 | access-date=8 September 2014 }}</ref> also replacing a very busy ferry crossing.

==Major intersections==
{{AUSinttop|state_col=State|LGA_ref=<ref name="SALGAs">{{cite web |url=https://location.sa.gov.au/viewer/?map=hybrid&x=136.19383&y=-32.61774&z=7&uids=11 |title=Location SA Map viewer with LGA layers |publisher=[[Government of South Australia]] |accessdate=16 June 2022}}</ref>|location_ref=<ref name="gmaps" /><ref name="vicreg" /><ref name="SAlocs">{{cite web |url=https://location.sa.gov.au/viewer/?map=hybrid&x=136.19383&y=-32.61774&z=7&uids=19 |title=Location SA Map viewer with suburb layers |publisher=[[Government of South Australia]] |accessdate=16 June 2022}}</ref>|length_ref=<ref name="gmaps" />}}
{{SAint
|sspan=21
|LGA-RC=Light
|LGAspan=8
|location_special={{SAcity|Gawler Belt}}–{{SAcity|Ward Belt}} boundary
|lspan=2
|type=trans
|km=0.0
|uspan=2
|road={{AUshield|SA|A20}} [[Gawler Bypass]] (A20){{SAcity|p=on|Elizabeth|Gepps Cross}}
|notes=Western terminus of highway, route A20 continues southwest along Gawler Bypass
}}
{{SAint
|type=incomplete
|km=none
|road={{AUshield|SA|M2}} [[Northern Expressway]] (M2){{SAcity|p=on|Waterloo Corner|Wingfield|Adelaide}}
|notes=Westbound entrance to and eastbound exit from Northern Expressway only
}}
{{SAint
|location_special=Gawler Belt–{{SAcity|Reid}}–{{SAcity|Willaston}} tripoint
|km=0.2
|bridge=''[[Morgan railway line]]''
}}
{{SAint
|location_special=Gawler Belt–Reid boundary
|lspan=2
|type=incomplete
|km=1.4
|road=Weyland Road{{SAcity|p=on|Gawler|Mallala|Balaklava}}
|notes=Westbound entry and exit only
}}
{{SAint
|type=incomplete
|km=2.0
|road=Redbanks Road{{SAcity|p=on|Gawler|Mallala|Balaklava}}
|notes=Eastbound entry and exit only
}}
{{SAint
|location_special=Gawler Belt–{{SAcity|Hewett}} boundary
|km=2.9
|road={{AUshield|SA|B82}} [[Horrocks Highway]] (B82){{SAcity|p=on|Tarlee|Clare}}, to {{AUshield|SA|B81}} [[Thiele Highway]] (B81){{SAcity|p=on|Freeling|Kapunda}}
|notes=
}}
{{SAint
|location=Greenock
|km=23
|road=Greenock Road{{SAcity|p=on|Greenock|Kapunda}}
|notes=
}}
{{SAint
|location=Nuriootpa
|km=31
|road={{AUshield|SA|B19}} [[Barossa Valley Way]] (B19){{SAcity|p=on|Tanunda|Lyndoch}}
|notes=
}}
{{SAint
|LGA-Co=Mid Murray
|LGAspan=3
|location=Truro
|lspan=2
|km=42
|road=Truro Road{{SAcity|p=on|Kapunda}}
|notes=
}}
{{SAint
|km=44
|road=Eudunda Road{{SAcity|p=on|Eudunda}}
|notes=
}}
{{SAint
|location=Annadale
|km=65
|road=Halfway House Road{{SAcity|p=on|Sedan|Mannum}}
|notes=Heavy vehicle detour {{AUshield|D|D1}} to [[South Eastern Freeway]] via [[Murray Bridge, South Australia|Murray Bridge]] (D1)
}}
{{Jctbridge
|river=[[Murray River|River Murray]]
|km=91
|bridge=Blanchetown Bridge
}}
{{SAint
|LGADC=Loxton Waikerie
|LGAspan=3
|location=Paisley
|km=92
|road=Hunter Road{{SAcity|p=on|Swan Reach|Mannum}}
|notes=
}}
{{SAint
|location=Waikerie
|km=129
|road=Old Waikerie Road{{SAcity|p=on|Waikerie}} 
|notes=
}}
{{SAint
|location=Kingston On Murray
|km=166
|road=Kingston Road{{SAcity|p=on|Loxton}}
|notes=
}}
{{Jctbridge
|river=River Murray
|km=168
|bridge=Kingston Bridge
}}
{{SAint
|LGA=[[Berri Barmera Council|Berri Barmera]]
|LGAspan=3
|location=Barmera
|km=179
|road={{AUshield|SA|B201}} Old Sturt Highway (B201){{SAcity|p=on|Berri}}
|notes=
}}
{{SAint
|location=Monash
|lspan=2
|km=185
|road={{AUshield|SA|B64}} [[Goyder Highway]] (B64){{SAcity|p=on|Morgan|Crystal Brook}}
|notes=
}}
{{SAint
|km=194
|road={{AUshield|SA|B201}} Old Sturt Highway (B201){{SAcity|p=on|Berri}}
|notes=
}}
{{Jctbridge
|river=River Murray
|km=211
|bridge=[[Paringa Bridge]]
}}
{{SAint
|LGADC=Renmark Paringa
|location=Pike River
|km=222
|road=Stanitzki Road{{SAcity|p=on|Loxton|Murray Bridge}}
|notes=
}}
{{SAint
|location_special=State border 
|lcspan=3
|lcalign=center
|km=234
|place=South Australia – Victoria state border
|notes=
}}
{{VICint
|sspan=6
|LGARC=Mildura
|LGAspan=6
|location=Neds Corner
|km=268
|road=Meringur North Road{{VICcity|p=on|Meringur}}
|notes=
}}
{{VICint
|location=Mildura
|lspan=5
|type=concur
|km=343
|road={{AUshield|VIC|A79}} Seventeenth Street ([[Calder Highway]]) (A79 north){{VICcity|p=on|Merbein}}, {{NSWcity|Wentworth|Broken Hill}}
|notes=Concurrency with route A79
|nspan=2
}}
{{VICint
|type=concur
|km=345
|road={{AUshield|VIC|A79}} Fifteenth Street ([[Calder Highway]]) (A79 south){{VICcity|p=on|Ouyen|Bendigo|Melbourne}}
|notes=none
}}
{{VICint
|km=347
|road={{AUshield|VIC|C256}} Eleventh Street (C256){{VICcity|p=on|Merbein|Mildura}}
|notes=
}}
{{VICint
|km=348
|bridge=''[[Mildura railway line]]''
}}
{{VICint
|km=349
|road={{AUshield|VIC|C255}} Seventh Street (C255){{VICcity|p=on|Irymple}}
|notes=
}}
{{SAint
|location_special=State border 
|lcspan=3
|lcalign=center
|km=351
|place=Victoria – New South Wales state border
}}
{{NSWint
|sspan=16
|location_special=[[Murray River]]
|lcspan=2
|lcalign=center
|km=353
|bridge=[[George Chaffey Bridge]]
}}
{{NSWint
|LGA-S=Wentworth
|location=Buronga
|km=352
|road={{AUshield|NSW|B79}} [[Silver City Highway]] (B79){{NSWcity|p=on|Wentworth|Broken Hill}}
|notes=
}}
{{NSWint
|LGA-S=Balranald
|location=Euston
|km=431
|road=[[Murray Valley Highway]]{{VICcity|p=on|Robinvale|Swan Hill}}
|notes=
}}
{{Jctbridge
|river=[[Murrumbidgee River]]
|km=509
|bridge=Balranald Bridge
}}
{{NSWint
|LGA=Balranald
|LGAspan=2
|location=Balranald
|lspan=2
|km=510
|road=Ivanhoe Road{{NSWcity|p=on|Ivanhoe}}
}}
{{NSWint
|km=511
|road=Yanga Way{{NSWcity|p=on|Tooleybuc}}, to {{AUshield|VIC|B12}} [[Mallee Highway]] (B12){{VICcity|p=on|Ouyen}}, [[Adelaide]]
}}
{{NSWint
|LGA-S=Hay
|LGAspan=2
|location=Maude
|km=583
|road=Maude Road{{NSWcity|p=on|Maude|Moulamein}}
|notes=
}}
{{NSWint
|location=Hay
|km=638
|road={{AUshield|NSW|B75}} [[Cobb Highway]] (B75){{NSWcity|p=on|Wilcannia}}, {{VICcity|Echuca}}, to {{AUshield|NSW|B64}} [[Mid-Western Highway]] (B64){{NSWcity|p=on|West Wyalong|Cowra}}
|notes=Roundabout
}}
{{NSWint
|LGA-S=Murrumbidgee
|location=Darlington Point
|km=752
|road={{AUshield|NSW|B87}} [[Kidman Way]] (B87){{NSWcity|p=on|Griffith|Cobar|Jerilderie}}
|notes=
}}
{{NSWint
|LGA-S=Narrandera
|LGAspan=3
|location=Narrandera
|lspan=3
|km=807
|bridge=''[[Tocumwal railway line, New South Wales|Tocumwal railway line]]''
}}
{{NSWint
|km=808
|type=concur
|road={{AUshield|NSW|A39}} [[Newell Highway]] (A39 south){{NSWcity|p=on|Jerilderie}}
|notes=Concurrency with route A39
|nspan=2
}}
{{NSWint
|km=809
|type=concur
|road={{AUshield|NSW|A39}} [[Newell Highway]] (A39 north){{NSWcity|p=on|West Wyalong|Parkes|Dubbo}}
|notes=none
}}
{{NSWint
|LGAC=Wagga Wagga
|LGAspan=4
|location=Wagga Wagga
|lspan=3
|type=concur
|km=899
|road={{AUshield|NSW|A41}} [[Olympic Highway]] (A41 south){{NSWcity|p=on|Albury}}
|notes=Concurrency with route A41
|nspan=2
}}
{{NSWint
|type=concur
|km=902
|road={{AUshield|NSW|A41}} [[Olympic Highway]] (A41 north){{NSWcity|p=on|Junee}}
|notes=none
}}
{{NSWint
|km=904
|bridge=''[[Main Southern railway line, New South Wales|Main Southern railway line]]''
}}
{{NSWint
|location=Tarcutta
|km=947
|type=trans
|road={{AUshield|NSW|M31}} [[Hume Highway|Hume Motorway]] (M31){{NSWcity|p=on|Albury|Sydney}}, [[Canberra]]
|notes=Eastern terminus of highway and route A20
}}
{{Jctbtm|col=7|conv=no|keys=concur,incomplete,trans}}

==Towns on Sturt Highway==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
'''South Australia'''
* {{SAcity|Gawler}}
* {{SAcity|Nuriootpa}}
* {{SAcity|Truro}}
* {{SAcity|Blanchetown}}
* {{SAcity|Waikerie}}
* {{SAcity|Kingston On Murray}}
* {{SAcity|Barmera}}
* {{SAcity|Renmark}}
* {{SAcity|Paringa}}
* {{SAcity|Yamba}}

{{col-3}}
'''Victoria'''
* {{VICcity|Cullulleraine}}
* {{VICcity|Merbein South}}
* {{VICcity|Mildura}}

{{col-3}}
'''New South Wales'''
* {{NSWcity|Buronga}}
* {{NSWcity|Euston}}
* {{NSWcity|Balranald}}
* {{NSWcity|Hay}}
* {{NSWcity|Darlington Point}}
* {{NSWcity|Narrandera}}
* {{NSWcity|Wagga Wagga}}
* {{NSWcity|Forest Hill}}
{{col-end}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Sturt Highway A20.jpg|Sturt Highway marked as A20 near [[Gumly Gumly, New South Wales|Gumly Gumly]]
Image:Edward Street (Sturt Highway) Wagga.jpg|Sturt Highway through [[Wagga Wagga, New South Wales]]
Image:Truro Main Street.jpg|Sturt Highway through [[Truro, South Australia]]
Image:Sturt and Olympic Highway intersection.jpg|The junction of the Sturt and [[Olympic Highway|Olympic]] Highways
</gallery>

==See also==
{{stack|{{Portal|Australian Roads|New South Wales|South Australia}}}}
* [[Highways in Australia]]
* [[List of highways in New South Wales]]
* [[List of highways in South Australia]]
* [[List of highways in Victoria]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{stack|{{Commons category|Sturt Highway}}}}

{{Road infrastructure in New South Wales}}
{{Road infrastructure in South Australia}}
{{Road infrastructure in Victoria}}

[[Category:Highways in Australia]]
[[Category:Riverina]]
[[Category:Highways in New South Wales]]
[[Category:Highways in South Australia]]
[[Category:Highways in Victoria (state)]]
[[Category:Charles Sturt]]