Major milestone for River Murray flood recovery as all ferries set to be operational by Saturday

Thursday, 23 February 2023

Four River Murray ferries will re-open over the next two days, marking the first time since November 2022 that all 12 ferries run by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport will be open, either in full or with restrictions.

Re-opening of Walker Flat, Swan Reach and Wellington ferries, plus connector roads

Walker Flat Ferry and its connector road, Angas Valley Road, will re-open to all traffic at 9am Friday, 24 February.

Swan Reach and Wellington ferries and their connector roads, Stott Highway and Ferry Road respectively, will also re-open at 9am Saturday, 25 February. Both roads will open with speed restrictions and Ferry Road will open to light vehicle traffic only in the first instance to protect the saturated road pavements from further damage.

Road users are reminded to comply with all road signage and always drive to the conditions, with some speed restrictions in place.

Re-opening of Mannum Upstream Ferry

Mannum Upstream Ferry will re-open to local light vehicle traffic only at 9am Saturday, 25 February, following the completion of flood-related levee infrastructure removal works by Mid Murray Council.

Access to the ferry will be temporarily restricted next week as finishing works are completed, however locals may still use the adjacent downstream crossing (which re-opened earlier this week) during this time.

Both the Mannum upstream and downstream ferries will be restored to full service, without weight restrictions, once the adjacent Hunter and Burdett roads are re-opened.

Both Hunter and Burdett roads have sustained significant damage, with repair works commencing earlier this week and expected to take between 4-6 weeks to complete (weather permitting). The Department thanks all road users for their patience and understanding while these important works are undertaken.

Major milestone in flood recovery effort

The re-opening of these four ferries will mark a major milestone in the River Murray flood recovery effort as it will be the first time since November 2022 – when ferry closures due to elevated water levels first commenced – that all 12 ferries run by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport are operational.

Additionally, as announced earlier this week, a free passenger-only service is currently running between Mannum and Cowirra, to provide Cowirra residents access to their properties from Mannum until access to Hunter Road is restored.

Use of the Morgan, Purnong, Mannum Downstream and Mannum Upstream ferries are still restricted to light vehicles, emergency vehicles, road safety vehicles and where relevant local school buses, due to weight requirements imposed by their respective local councils on the ferries’ connector roads.

All other ferries are open without restrictions.

Restrictions removed on Taylorville Road and Princes Highway

Following the completion of repair works and risk assessments, Taylorville Road and Waikerie Ferry will now open to all vehicles at 9am Friday, 24 February.

The road had previously been re-opened to light traffic, but will now be accessible to B-Double and heavy mass permitted vehicles following the satisfactory results of assessments of the road and adjacent bridge’s performance under light vehicle traffic.

Speed restrictions on the Princes Highway at Waltowa (between Tailem Bend and Meningie) were also lifted at 7am Thursday, 23 September, after water levels over low-lying sections of the highway adjacent the Lower Lakes receded to a safe level.

Once Angas Valley Road and Stott Highway are re-opened, all State Government-managed roads except Hunter and Burdett roads will be open to traffic.

Attention will now turn to longer term repairs and reconstruction activities. The Department continues to work closely with local councils and emergency and essential services to ensure a coordinated approach to activities.

Planning to identify potential betterment works have also commenced.

The latest traffic information, including road closures and detours, is available at www.traffic.sa.gov.au

The Department continues to provide regular updates on its Facebook and Twitter pages during the flood recovery - including details of any road and ferry re-openings, detours and safety advice.

For the latest information and advice during River Murray floods, visit www.sa.gov.au/floods