The intersection is notorious for road accidents and traffic delays, especially at the end of holidays and long weekends.

Seeking to reduce cartage costs, a track was surveyed to its port, established at the mouth of the River Wakefield.

With the opening of the railway from Adelaide to Gawler in 1857, the Copper Company's traffic came to a sudden end, leaving only pastoral produce to flow to the port.

Mixed farming was established on lands opening up by the Government along the River in the mid-1860s, and this called for improvement in transport to the Port.

William Hanson, Manager for Railways, selected a route for a horse-drawn tramway terminating at Hoyles Plains, later renamed Hoyleton.

The line was extended at the other end from Port Wakefield to Kadina in October 1878 and to Wallaroo and Moonta by 1891.

[13] The 1955 Australian Grand Prix was held at the Port Wakefield Circuit east of the township.

[14] The party won the election and upgraded the planning to completely grade-separate the intersection and duplicate the highway through Port Wakefield.

[17] In 1876, a short lived newspaper was printed in the town, called the Port Wakefield Times and Balaclava, Hoyleton, Blyth and Lochiel Advertiser (July – August 1876),[18] published by Edward Richardson.