South Australian road projects on track with budget boost

Projects started this year, funded by the Australian and South Australian Governments, are improving more than 1,500 kilometres of roads and supporting about 2,500 jobs.

This $680 million program of works across the state includes road resurfacing, road maintenance and works on major projects such as the Springbank, Goodwood and Daws Roads intersection upgrade, Portrush and Magill Roads intersection upgrade and the first major resurfacing of the South Eastern Freeway in 20 years.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack joined South Australia Premier Steven Marshall and South Australian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Corey Wingard yesterday to inspect the works on the South Eastern Freeway.

The $35 million deep asphalt replacement project for the South Eastern Freeway is jointly funded by the Australian and South Australian Governments under the South Eastern Freeway Pavement Rehabilitation Stimulus 2. Major asphalting works were last undertaken on this section of the freeway over 20 years ago.

With 22 per cent, or over $3 billion, of the new infrastructure spend from the federal government headed to South Australia, Wingard said the state was on track to complete its pipeline of works.

“…we have got a pipeline of works now, roughly $1 billion a year over next four years, which is significant spending on infrastructure here in South Australia,” said Wingard.

Work on the North-South corridor upgrade is another major project underway. Key projects as part of the North-South Corridor include the Northern Connector, Torrens Road to River Torrens, Darlington Upgrade, Regency Road to Pym Street as well as North-South Corridor future priorities which is currently in planning.

“…we want to make sure that we build the construction that South Australia wants, needs, expects, demands, deserves and expects. That’s what I said earlier. And yes, we want to build this particular important corridor. We want South Australians to get where they need to be sooner and safer,” McCormack said.

The corridor received $2.6 billion additional funding from the federal government as part of the budget, which will be spent on developing the  10.5-kilometre stretch between River Torrens and Darlington, reducing travel times by up to 24 minutes.

Earlier ground investigations and engineering survey site works have been completed at approximately 200 drilling sites with over 5,000 tests along the corridor. This as well as early planning and design work has created more than 200 jobs so far.

A freight bypass for the South Eastern Freeway is next on the agenda, as Wingard suggested.

“Of course, we have money there for the planning study for that great freight bypass to take the big, heavy high-productivity vehicles off the South Eastern Freeway, get them around the back on to ultimately the Northern Connector and into Adelaide that way.

“…We have been working and doing the planning works with the federal government. We’ve put a couple of steps and stages in place now. We’ll continue to do that planning works, but we see a real great opportunity here for South Australia,” Wingard commented.