The Strategy provides a framework to drive economic growth and ensure South Australia remains a great place to live and work for future generations,” RA President Michael Bushby said.
RA’s submission to Infrastructure South Australia last year made recommendations around project sustainability evaluation, capacity-building, integrated land and infrastructure planning, and electric and autonomous vehicles.
“The importance of these issues is recognised in the final version of the Strategy,” Mr Bushby said.
“We’re especially pleased to see resilience acknowledged as a key factor in infrastructure planning, design, delivery and maintenance.
“The recent bushfire crisis underlines the growing challenge we face in protecting infrastructure such as roads from the impacts of climate-related events.
“Many regional communities are completely reliant on their road in or out – more so immediately before, during and after a fire or flood.
“We have to ensure our existing and new road infrastructure can stand up to these increasingly severe weather events and bounce back quickly afterwards.”
Mr Bushby also welcomed the recognition in the Strategy of the need to address the significant level of outstanding maintenance that exists across SA’s road network.
“It is a problem not just in South Australia, but in every state and territory,” he said.
“The longer we leave it, the greater the cost to the community.”