The first projects funded from a joint $168 million investment in South Australia under the Australian Government’s Road Safety Program have been announced, commencing in April.
These projects will improve safety, support regional economic growth and reduce the risk of crashes causing death or serious injuries.
The upgrades will include shoulder sealing, curve widening, safety barrier installation, hazard removal and Audio Tactile Line Marking (ATLM).
Regions covered include the Yorke Peninsula, Murraylands, Mid North, Eyre Peninsula and Fleurieu Peninsula.
The funding includes upgrades for two sections of Upper Yorke Road, between Kulpara and Arthurton (35-kilometre section) and from Port Broughton to Bute (25-kilometre section).
Upper Yorke Road is a key route for heavy vehicles, especially during harvest season, and the proposed upgrades will improve safety for the many truck drivers and residents in the Yorke Peninsula who use this road daily.
There will also be improvement works along RM Williams Way between Jamestown and Spalding, as well as the Mallee Highway between Tailem Bend and Geranium.
This 65-kilometre section of the Mallee Highway is a key transport link between Adelaide, Melbourne and the Murraylands agricultural region.
Works on Upper Yorke Road and RM Williams Way are expected to begin in May while works on the Mallee Highway are set to start next month, with all works to be completed in 2025.
Further SA works to begin in 2024 under the Road Safety Program include:
- Thiele Highway (Kapunda to Eudunda)
- Main South Road (Sellicks Beach to Second Valley)
- Lincoln Highway (Whyalla to Cowell)
- Lincoln Highway (Cowell to Lipson)
- Lincoln Highway (Lipson to Tumby Bay)
The program of works is expected to support approximately 305 full-time equivalent jobs over the construction period.
The $168 million investment under the national Road Safety Program is equally funded by the Australian and South Australian governments, each contributing $84 million.
The new Road Safety Program also invests in infrastructure that improves safety of people walking and riding including new crossings, safety upgrades at existing intersections and improvements to strategic walkways.
South Australia’s Minister for Road Safety Geoff Brock said the investment was timely following a nation wide increase in the road toll in 2023.
“I’m pleased the first major projects under this investment have been locked in so the South Australian Government can continue to improve our regional road network,” Minister Brock said.
“2023 was a tragic year on regional roads and these upgrades will go a long way to helping reduce the devastating impact of serious and fatal crashes on communities.
“Our freight industry will also benefit from safer, more efficient journeys as the state and federal governments work together to improve key transport corridors throughout regional South Australia.”