Safety Upgrades on Eight Country Roads

About the project

The Australian and South Australian Governments have announced $70 million in funding towards safety upgrades on eight country roads to facilitate the reinstatement of the 110km/h speed limit.

This commitment, $56 million from the Australian Government and $14 million from the State Government, is part of the $1.115 billion funding announced in the 2019-20 State Budget for regional roads and infrastructure.

Regional roads are crucial to building and connecting strong communities and growing regional economies.

The South Australian Government is committed to ensuring the efficient movement of vehicles throughout our regions without reducing safety.

Reduced travel time for people and freight is beneficial to economic growth. These upgrades will enable the reinstatement of the 110km/h speed limit without increasing the risk of casualty crashes.

Upgrades will occur on the following roads:

• Goyder Highway (Crystal Brook to Gulnare)
• Clay Wells Road (Southern Ports Highway to Callendale Road)
• Riddoch Highway (Mount Gambier to Port MacDonnell)
• Carpenter Rocks Road (Burrungule Road to Mount Gambier)
• Ngarkat Highway (Pinnaroo to Bordertown)
• Browns Well Highway (Loxton to Pinnaroo)
• Cleve Road (Cleve to Kimba)
• Andamooka Road (Andamooka to Olympic Dam).

Works delivered under this initiative will include:

• shoulder sealing and roadside hazard protection or removal to reduce the risk and severity of “run-off road” type crashes
• pavement works to improve ride quality
• improvements such as line marking and signage and, on higher traffic volume roads, includes  a wide centre line treatment, intersection upgrade and Audio Tactile Line Marking.

Timeframes

Planning and design works are underway on all projects.

The full program of road safety upgrades will be delivered over a two year period and will be completed in mid-2021.

Once the required safety upgrades are complete, it is anticipated that speed limits will be increased as follows:

• Andamooka Road – in the second half of 2020
• Riddoch Highway – in the second half of 2020
• Carpenter Rocks Road – in the second half of 2020
• Goyder Highway – in the first half of 2021
• Clay Wells Road – in the first half of 2021
• Ngarkat Highway – mid-2021
• Browns Well Highway – mid-2021
• Cleve Road – mid-2021

Image: Cleve Road narrow road shoulder to be sealed

COVID-19 Response

The Department will continue to tailor community engagement opportunities in line with the latest COVID-19 advice from health authorities.

Face-to-face engagement opportunities may be restricted and we will continue to be guided by the advice of health authorities, with the health and safety of our stakeholders always our highest priority.

Engagement with community and industry is crucial and we will facilitate information sessions as much as possible to enable face to face engagement.  It is important to assist in managing these events that you register as requested to enable physical distancing as much as possible.

Further information

If you have any questions about these projects, please:

• email: dit.communityrelations@sa.gov.au
• telephone: 1300 794 880, or
• write to: GPO Box 1533, Adelaide SA 5001.