A8 (Sydney)
A8 New South Wales | |
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Driving southbound on the A8 over the Spit Bridge | |
General information | |
Type | Road |
Length | 23 km (14 mi) |
History | Superseded Metroad 10 in 2013 |
Route number(s) |
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Former route number |
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Major junctions | |
NE end | |
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SW end | |
Location(s) | |
Region | Sydney |
LGA(s) | |
Major suburbs | Mona Vale, Narrabeen, Collaroy, Dee Why, Brookvale, Balgowlah, Seaforth, Mosman, Cremorne, Neutral Bay |
Highway system | |
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in New South Wales | |
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The A8 is one of Sydney, Australia's metropolitan arterial routes, superseding Metroad 10. The A8 route runs for 23 kilometres from North Sydney to Mona Vale. The route includes parts of several different roads. The A8 designation replaced Metroad 10 during May 2013, much as the Metroad 10 route designation previously replaced the former State Route 14 designation in December 1998.[2]
The A8 is the main transport link through the Northern Beaches district of Sydney. It forms one of only three road connections between the Northern Beaches area and the rest of Sydney. The A8's crossing of Middle Harbour on the Spit Bridge has become infamous as one of the most congested road links in the city, made worse by the regular opening of the bridge to allow boats to pass by.
The A8 starts at the Warringah Freeway (M1) at North Sydney. The A8 route ends at the intersection of Pittwater Road and with Mona Vale Road (A3), at Mona Vale.
The A8 follows these roads from Mona Vale (North) to the North Sydney (South):
- Pittwater Road
- Condamine Road
- Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation
- Manly Road
- Spit Road
- Military Road
The majority of the A8 has three lanes in each direction. There are a few sections with only two lanes in each direction. None of the A8 route is a proper freeway, and it has intersections controlled by traffic lights every few blocks. The Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation opened in 1985 to bypass the congested Balgowlah shopping strip, offers 3 kilometres of almost freeway-grade motoring.
History
Most of the components of the A8 are old roads. The section of Military Road through Cremorne and Mosman was first built in the 1820s. The earliest bridge at The Spit, linking Mosman to Manly, opened in 1923, and was then rebuilt in the late 1950s with new, wider, approach roads on the southern (Spit Road) and northern sides (Manly Road) of the bridge. The newest section of road is the Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation, a completely new road built the early 1980s to bypass the congested Balgowlah shopping strip on Sydney Road. The route from North Sydney to Mona Vale was designated at 'State Route 14' in 1974. It was re-designated as Metroad 10 in 1998, five years after the first Metroad routes were introduced.
Traffic headed south-east on the Warringah Freeway originally had no ability to exit the freeway and enter Falcon Street, so the original Metroad 10 route had a connection further west via the Pacific Highway to Artarmon. When north-facing, tolled, off-ramps were constructed which directly connected the Warringah freeway to Falcon Street from 2007, Metroad 10 route was truncated at that point.
Major intersections
Major roads and routes intersected along the A8 ( from south to north ) include:
- The commencement of the A8 at the intersection of Falcon Street (A8) with the Warringah Freeway (M1) at North Sydney.
- The junction of Spit Road and Military Road, at Mosman
- The junction with Sydney Road and, indirectly, to the Wakehurst Parkway, at Seaforth
- The junction with Condamine Street, at Balgowlah
- The junction with Pittwater Road, at Brookvale
- The junction with Warringah Road (A38), at Brookvale
- The junction with the Wakehurst Parkway, at North Narrabeen
- The junction with Mona Vale Road (A3) at Mona Vale, where the A8 ends
See also
Australian Roads portal
References
- ↑ Former State Route 14, Ozroads, Retrieved 28 May 2013
- ↑ "NSW Metroad 10". Ozroads. Retrieved 14 May 2013.