Hahndorf residents fighting to save the vision for freeway interchange

Hahndorf residents are refusing to back down after a proposed truck bypass to ease traffic chaos in the tourist town was dumped.

An artist impression of a new pedestrian crossing set to be part of the Hahndorf Township Improvement and Access Upgrade Project.

Hahndorf residents will continue to fight to save a proposed freeway interchange designed to ease the area’s traffic burden, despite a state government decision to scrap the new truck bypass near the popular tourist town.

Late last year the state government announced it would ditch plans for an upgraded freeway interchange near Hahndorf, with angry Hills residents accusing the state government of falling short of its responsibility to deliver safe roads.

Hahndorf locals Catherine McLeod, with her dog Hunter, Jeremy Roberts, Cathryn Nitschke and son Solomon Nitschke in the Main Street. Picture: Dylan Hogarth

Now, a 1300-signature petition has been circulating the Adelaide Hills, with residents calling for a bypass solution to reduce the heavy traffic on Hahndorf’s main street.

In 2020, $250 million was committed to the Hahndorf Township Improvements and Access Upgrade Project – funded by an 80 per cent federal and 20 per cent state contribution – with a potential bypass on the South-Eastern Freeway near the town a key element of the project.

However, in September last year, Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis announced the proposed highway interchange was scrapped from the project, citing community feedback on the impact a new freeway entry point would have on the surrounding environment, heritage, business and properties.

The Hahndorf Community Association has continued to be a champion of the bypass cause and chair Greg Lomax said he met with Mr Koutsantonis this week.

Mr Lomax said the meeting was “encouraging” and “allowed the Hahndorf representatives to further outline the need for an appropriately-designed bypass for the town, with minimal impact on property, heritage and the environment”.

He said he sought to ensure the Minister was fully informed about the local needs for an appropriate bypass road for trucks and commuter vehicles passing through the popular tourist town every day.

“Among the outcomes from the meeting were the HCA accepting the Minister’s offer to be briefed on recent departmental modelling on the potential traffic reductions stemming from the government’s September announcement, to complete the full interchange at Verdun and expand the interchange at Mt Barker,” Mr Lomax said.

Federal Opposition transport assistant spokesman Tony Pasin said projects like the Hahndorf access upgrade were planned to improve safety and access for the growing number of visitors accessing Hanhdorf, while increasing productivity and efficiency for freight vehicles.

He said around one million visitors each year toured Hahndorf’s main street, with this number increasing 1.9 per cent annually.

“With around 11,000 vehicles using the main street of Hahndorf each day, including almost 500 heavy vehicles, a solution to the increasing congestion and safety concerns is well overdue,” Mr Pasin said.

“With the Hahndorf Strategic Traffic Planning Study released over 18 months ago, construction on the $250 million project was expected to begin early next year … instead, the project is effectively back on the drawing board and funding has been stripped.”

Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Tom Koutsantonis said the government had “inherited various options for a Hahndorf interchange that were all problematic” and each encountered local opposition during consultation.

“Our modelling indicates our planned construction of full interchanges at Verdun and Mount Barker as part of this project will see a total traffic reduction of 990 vehicles per day for the entire Main Street of Hahndorf, including 880 fewer cars and 110 fewer trucks, buses and heavy vehicles,” he said.

“At my instigation, I have met twice with representatives of the Hahndorf Community Association, and offered them a detailed briefing on the modelling underpinning the chosen options.

“We are pleased they have indicated they are strongly supportive of the interchange upgrades at Verdun and Mount Barker ... we have undertaken to maintain a positive ongoing dialogue.”