New lights to be installed at Southern Expressway black spot
Motorists will be guided by new lights at busy intersection off the Southern Expressway following a series of crashes and near misses.
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New lights to direct motorists will be installed at a black spot off the Southern Expressway in a bid to prevent more accidents.
The State Government is planning to install directional lights on the road at the intersection of Panalatinga and Kenihans roads — on the Reynella exit of the Southern Expressway.
The $200,000 project was identified as priority in the 2018/19 State Government Budget and scheduled for completion by June 30.
However, Liberal MP for Black (and Environment Minister) David Speirs said the design phase of the project had taken longer than expected.
It is now expected to be finished by the end of October.
“The project aims to assist drivers in identifying lane boundaries by using LED lighting, focused directly in the motorists’ line of sight, to guide them through the intersection,” Mr Speirs said.
“The lights will enhance the visibility of the boundaries and provide improved recognition for drivers, especially during low light and poor visibility conditions.
“The lights will activate when the direction of travel is permitted to proceed and will illuminate and remain constant until the phase ends.
“The lights will not be visible to motorists approaching from other directions.”
Approximately 30,000 motorists use the stretch of road each day.
Nearby resident Adam Grant welcomed the lights and said it was an extremely busy intersection with four major roads (Old South, Panatalinga, Main South and Kenihans) meeting and a pedestrian crossing used to access the nearby Panatalinga park ‘n’ ride.
He said people travelling north on Panatalinga Rd often could not see the traffic lights at the intersection until the last minute.
“We live a couple of houses back and we hear the screeching tires and blaring horns every night,” Mr Grant said.
“I’ve encountered four major accidents involving three or more cars.
“Our fear is that a car could end up in our backyard.”
Labor MP for Hurtle Vale Nat Cook has written to Premier Steven Marshall and Transport Minister Stephan Knoll in support of the project’s completion.
Ms Cook said she had witnessed two high-speed accidents at the site personally in the past few months.
‘(Accidents) happen there a lot and I often see people going up the wrong way, especially people who don’t know the area well,” Ms Cook said.
