Upgrade of South Eastern Freeway to be fast-tracked
The State Government has pledged $50 million towards fast-tracking safety upgrades on the South Eastern Freeway.
Adelaide Hills
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Works to improve the safety of the South Eastern Freeway will be fast-tracked following a $50 million funding announcement by the State Government today.
A total $15 million has been allocated for a safety upgrade and refit of the Heysen Tunnels and $35 million to rehabilitate and resurface the Freeway between the Tollgate and Crafers.
The grants form part of the State Government’s $120 million funding boost towards new infrastructure projects, including $12 million for a higher capacity North-South Freight Route bypassing Adelaide; $6 million to seal Adventure Way and Innamincka Airport Road and $52 million for targeted regional road network repair and improvement, including on the Stuart Highway, Yorke Highway, Dukes Highway and Riddoch Highway.
Member for Kavel, Dan Cregan said the projects had been fast-tracked to help stimulate the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, he said a timeline for the commencement of the projects, including the South Eastern Freeway, had not yet been released.
“There is now a significant pipeline of work in the Freeway corridor including the widening
project between Crafers and Stirling, the resurfacing projects at Mount Barker and from the
Tollgate to Crafers and the Tunnel safety refit,” he said.
“We have been in regular contact with the Minister’s office to lobby for this vital funding.”
Transport Minister Stephan Knoll MP said a tender had now been released for the $15 million Heysen Tunnel refit.
“We are trying to get these projects out the door as quickly as possible to support more South
Australian jobs and businesses as we deal with the impacts of the coronavirus,” Minister Knoll said.”
Adelaide Hills Council Mayor Jan-Claire Wisdom said she welcomed the announcement but appealed to the government to not overlook smaller projects in the region.
“Of course we support any infrastructure work that improves the safety of the freeway and we welcome this announcement,” she said.
“That said, we’re still waiting for some announcement regarding, for example, the Verdun interchange which would assist in the recovery of our economic development and then there’s also a number of smaller projects, identified in the bushfire recovery process, that would give us new infrastructure, such as bike tracks.
“So while I welcome this from a safety aspect, from an economic recovery viewpoint, it would be nice to see some new infrastructure projects supported and announced.”