Barrier Highway set for junction upgrades and improvements

Thursday, 29 September 2022

Works to improve road safety and freight productivity on a 305-kilometre section of the Barrier Highway continue to roll out, with junction upgrades, new and upgraded rest areas and culvert replacements to be undertaken.

A tender has recently been released to market for a package of improvements along the highway, with works expected to commence in 2023.

The Barrier Highway’s junctions with Main Street and Whyte Road, in Yunta and Whyte Yarcowie respectively, will be upgraded to enable future provision for use by Performance Based Standards Level 3B heavy vehicles (up to 42-metre-long double road trains).

Three new rest areas will be constructed along the highway; one located 17 kilometres west of Cockburn, and two near Yunta (one 25 kilometres east of the township and another 11 kilometres west), while an existing rest area 32 kilometres west of Cockburn will be upgraded. Three culverts will also be replaced.

These works are all expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.

The package forms part of the South Australian and Australian governments’ $62.5 million commitment (on an 80:20 basis) to upgrade the Barrier Highway between Cockburn and Burra as part of the Roads of Strategic Importance (ROSI) initiative.

As part of this program, more than 110 kilometres of pavement widening, rehabilitation, shoulder widening, and spray sealing has been completed to date along the Barrier Highway.