Loxton to Naracoorte

AD sign on Mallee Highway, eastbound approaching the junction with the newly named Ngarkat Highway near Pinnaroo. Photo taken: January 2005.

Length: 288km

Northern Terminus: Bookpurnong Tce (B55) & Tobruk Tce (B57), Loxton

Southern Terminus: Riddoch Hwy (A66) & Naracoorte Rd (B57), 26km north of Naracoorte

Route taken: Tobruk Tce, Paruna Rd, Browns Well Highway, Symonds St, Gilbert Ave, Homburg Tce, Mallee Highway, Ngarkat Highway, Dukes Highway, North Tce, McLeod St, Naracoorte Rd

Focal Points: Loxton, Pinnaroo, Bordertown, Naracoorte

Responsibility: State Government

B57 is a 288km-long north-south link in eastern South Australia, paralleling the Victorian border en route from Loxton to Naracoorte. Passing through some sparsely populated areas, it links a number of important towns and provides a direct link between the South East and Riverland districts.

Like most other rural routes in South Australia, signposting of the route is very haphazard, with the B57 route number still missing from a large number of signs.

What's in a name?

As part of South Australia's rural addressing program, which commenced in 2008 and is expected to be complete by 2012, thousands of previously unnamed roads across the state were given names. As part of this process, the name 'Browns Well Highway' was given to the road between Loxton and Pinnaroo; the Bordertown-Pinnaroo road was named 'Ngarkat Highway' and the name 'Naracoorte Road' was given to the section of the route south of Bordertown.

Browns Well Highway is named after the former Browns Well District Council, centred on Paruna, which was amalgamated with Loxton and Waikerie in the 1990s. Prior to its official naming, the road was commonly known by this name.¹ Ngarkat Highway is named after the conservation parks which cover much of the Mallee between Bordertown and Pinnaroo.

Notable Events:

1998/99 - Route B57 introduced
2008 - 'Browns Well Highway' officially named
2011 - 'Ngarkat Highway' and 'Naracoorte Road' officially named

References:

1. Murray and Mallee Local Government Association, Appendix 2 to Annual General Meeting, 6 June 2008

Photos of route B57
	RD sign on Symonds St, heading north from Pinnaroo. Note the omission of B57. Photo taken: January 2005.
	AD sign westbound on Gilbert Ave approaching the junction with Homburg Tce & Devon Tce, Pinnaroo. Note the National Route 12 shield - this sign pre-dates the alpha-numeric route marking system (and nonetheless should have said 'To NR12'). Photo taken: January 2005.
	ID sign facing southbound traffic at the intersection of Gilbert Ave, Homburg Tce & Devon Tce at Pinnaroo. Note the redundant NR12 shield and the omission of any reference to B57. Photo taken: January 2005.
	ID sign northbound at the intersection of Gilbert Ave, Homburg Tce & Devon Tce at Pinnaroo. Note the absence of B57. Photo taken: January 2005.
	AD sign southbound on Homburg Tce approaching the junction with Mallee Highway at Pinnaroo. Note the absence of any reference to B57 for the right turn. Photo taken: January 2005.
	ID sign assembly at the intersection of Mallee Highway & Homburg Tce, Pinnaroo. Note the correct references to B12 and B57! Photo taken: January 2005.
	AD sign eastbound on Mallee Highway approaching the junction with Homburg tce at Pinnaroo. Note the poorly designed coverplate - at least it shows the correct route numbering though! Photo taken: January 2005.
	AD sign assembly eastbound on Mallee Highway approaching the junction with Day St, Pinnaroo. Note the old, blue-ish green used on the top AD sign. Photo taken: January 2005.
	RD sign westbound on Mallee Highway as you leave Pinnaroo. Note the omission of any mention of B57. Photo taken: January 2005.
	AD sign westbound on Mallee Highway approaching the junction with Ngarkat Highway, 6km west of Pinnaroo. B57 leaves the Mallee Highway to travel south towards Bordertown. Photo taken: January 2005.
	AD sign westbound on Mallee Highway approaching the junction with Ngarkat Highway, 6km west of Pinnaroo, correctly showing the B12/B57 duplex. Photo taken: January 2005.
	ID sign assembly at the intersection of Mallee Highway & Ngarkat Highway. Photo taken: January 2005.
	AD sign assembly northbound on Ngarkat Highway approaching the junction with Mallee Highway. Note the older green used for the lower sign (and the blank coverplate covering a NR12 shield) and the even older 'standard green' used for the upper sign. Also note no mention of B57. Photo taken: January 2005.
	Ngarkat Highway heading south from the intersection with Mallee Highway. As the sign suggests, there's not much to look at between Pinnaroo and Bordertown. Photo taken: January 2005.
	Ngarkat Highway southbound approaching the junction with Emu Flat Rd, 100km south of Pinnaroo. Photo taken: January 2005.
	RD sign on Ngarkat Highway, heading north from the junction with Dukes Highway, 12km west of Bordertown. Photo taken: January 2005.
	AD sign southbound on Ngarkat Highway approaching the junction with Dukes Highway. Note the redundant NH8 shield and the absence of any reference to B57 or A8 for the left turn. Photo taken: January 2005.
	AD sign westbound on Dukes Highway approaching the junction with Ngarkat Highway at Cannawigara. Photo taken: January 2005.
	AD sign eastbound on Dukes Highway approaching the junction with Meatworks Rd, 5km west of Bordertown. Meatworks Rd provides a bypass of Bordertown for traffic headed to/from Naracoorte, however B57 has been routed through the town centre as this sign shows. Photo taken: January 2005.
	AD sign westbound on Dukes Highway approaching the junction with Meatworks Rd, 5km west of Bordertown. Photo taken: January 2005.
	ID sign at the intersection of Dukes Highway & North Tce, Bordertown. B57 makes a right turn here to pass through Bordertown town centre, however there is no mention of B57 on any signage in Bordertown! Photo taken: January 2005.
	North Tce eastbound at the intersection with Tatiara Tce. Note there is again no mention of B57, although this sign does date from the opening of the Bordertown Bypass in 1987. B57 makes a right turn into McLeod St at the green sign in the middle distance. Photo taken: January 2005.
	McLeod St southbound approaching the junction with South Tce - again no mention of B57. Photo taken: January 2005.
	Naracoorte Rd northbound approaching the junction with South Tce at Bordertown. Note the absence of any reference to B57 which continues straight through this intersection. Photo taken: January 2005.
	RD sign southbound on Naracoorte Rd outside Bordertown High School. Photo taken: January 2005.
	Naracoorte Rd southbound approaching the junction with Bordertown-Frances Rd on the southern outskirts of Bordertown. Photo taken: January 2005.
	RD sign on Naracoorte Rd, heading south from the junction with Bordertown-Frances Rd. A short distance ahead, the road forks to either Naracoorte (left) or Kingston S.E. (right). Photo taken: January 2005.