Transport Dept needs to get its South Rd message straight | Kathryn Bermingham

Transport officials need to change their tune if they want to prevent the human toll of the upgrade blowing out with the costs, writes Kathryn Bermingham.

As costs and timelines for the Torrens to Darlington blow out, the human toll of the project cannot be ignored.

The government has so far flagged 393 properties must be acquired to make way for the 10.5km stretch of road – but further acquisitions have not been ruled out.

Each comes with some level of upheaval for owners, who are forced to negotiate with the Transport Department over compensation for a home they didn’t intend to sell.

Some residents have been there for decades and poured thousands of dollars into renovations, or planned their retirement at the property.

The department has processes in place that aim to ensure it is fair for owners, and, during a visit to Glandore on Tuesday, several told The Advertiser they were happy with the value reached.

One said they had guessed their property was worth between $800,000 and $900,000 but had reached a settlement of $1.2m.

Another said they had been planning to downsize anyway, and the acquisition meant they avoided the need to prepare their property for sale.

But for others, the process has been difficult and taxing.

And a new parliamentary report has found their stress has been exacerbated by the mismanaged communication of the department.

The report also highlighted the important fact that the impact of compulsory acquisition extends far beyond the owners forced to hand over their properties.

Owners of homes that are not required for the project, but are positioned close by, are rightly concerned that ugly sound walls, flyovers, lack of greening, noise and dust will reduce the market value of their home.

They are not eligible for compensation, and some even said they would have preferred to have had their homes acquired rather than stay and put up with their proximity to the project.

Then there are tenants of properties that had been used as rentals, who must find a new home as the housing crisis escalates.

Among them are Terrie Connole and Virginia Mildren, who are staying at crisis accommodation centre Safe Place SA. Both say they have no other place to live.

Safe Place SA human resource executive Peter Kartabani with Terrie Connole and Virginia Mildren in front of their premises on South Rd. Picture: Russell Millard

Owner Peter Kartabani said plans to relocate the centre have fallen through because he has not been able to reach an agreement with the department on the value of the South Rd site.

Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis has repeatedly emphasised the importance of making sure the government gets plans for the corridor, the state’s biggest-ever road infrastructure project, right.

For that reason, he has initiated a major departmental review of the reference design, which will be made public before the end of the year.

But, after the previous government released its design and made assurances no further properties would be acquired, some residents must feel that the rug has been pulled from beneath them.

The parliamentary report made 13 recommendations – several focused on listening and prioritising the views of those affected.

With a long road ahead, the department must overhaul its communications strategy to improve its relationship with those people and minimise the impact of the project.