$168m National Road Safety Program to improve SA’s roads after a year of fatalities

Motorists who use SA’s deadliest regional road including school bus and ambulance drivers will be “rejoicing” over the long-overdue upgrade.

Some of South Australia’s most deadly highways are about to get a safety upgrade in a multimillion dollar effort to reduce the risk of crashes causing death and injury.

A $168m road safety program, funded in equal part by the South Australian government and the federal government, is set to roll out over the next 12 to 18 months.

A series of safety treatments will begin in April in an effort to improve some of the state’s worst roads.

Road works on a 35km section of Upper Yorke Rd between Kulpara and Arthurton and a 25km section between Port Broughton and Bute are scheduled to begin in May.

Police at the scene of a serious crash south of Port Broughton on the Yorke Peninsula in November 2023. Picture: 7 NEWS

The upgrades will include shoulder sealing, curve widening, safety barrier installation, hazard removal and audio tactile line marking and are expected to be completed by mid-2025.

State member for Narrunga Fraser Ellis said motorists in the Yorke Peninsula including school bus and ambulance drivers would be “rejoicing” over the long-overdue upgrade.

“My understanding is that Upper Yorke Rd was built in the 1950s and has barely been touched since,” he said.

The road currently has a one-star safety rating from the RAA, which Minister Brock has promised to increase to “at least a three-star safety rating” by 2025.

A 35-year-old Quorn man was killed last November when his car came off Upper Yorke Rd, south of Port Broughton, slamming into a tree at high speed.

Only months before the incident, a medstar helicopter had responded to a similar road crash after a vehicle collided with a tree on Upper Yorke Rd in Bute.

“Upper Yorke Rd is a key route for heavy vehicles, especially during harvest season, and the proposed upgrades will improve safety for the many truck drivers and residents in the Yorke Peninsula who use this road daily,” Mr Brock said.

While works on the longer-term upgrades are scheduled to begin in May, the Malinauskas government has set aside an extra $600,000 to offer a more immediate solution for motorists, promising to patch up three sections of Upper Yorke Rd south of Port Broughton in the coming weeks.

Last year Upper Yorke Rd was listed by grain producers as one of the Top 10 Worst Grain Roads.

“The announcement of critical funding for Grain Producers SA’s number one Worst Grain Road – Upper Yorke Rd Arthurton to Kulpara – is a huge win for safety and productivity,” Grain Producers SA CEO Brad Perry said.

Safety upgrades planned for regional roads in 2024-2025

Safety upgrades planned for this year include Thiele Hwy (Kapunda to Eudunda), Main South Rd (Sellicks Beach to Second Valley), Lincoln Hwy (Whyalla to Cowell), Lincoln Hwy (Cowell to Lipson) and Lincoln Hwy (Lipson to Tumby Bay).

Only last week two women were flown to hospital with serious injuries following a collision on the Thiele Hwy in Kapunda.

Earlier in the year a 29-year-old man became the state’s second road death of 2024 after his ute crashed on the same highway 10km northwest of Kapunda, rolling into a paddock.

Last March two people from Whyalla were killed in a two-car crash on Lincoln Hwy between Port Augusta and Whyalla on the Upper Spencer Gulf.

Last July a 43-year-old motorbike rider was killed colliding with a Mercedes-Benz station wagon on Main South Rd in Sellicks Beach.

A 29-year-old Eudunda man died after his Toyota ute crashed and rolled into a paddock near Kapunda last year. Picture: 7 NEWS

Metro upgrades for pedestrians and cyclists to come

The new road safety project will also invest in infrastructure in metro areas across the state to “improve the safety of people walking and riding”.

This will include new crossings, safety upgrades at existing intersections and improvements to strategic walkways.

A road crash in Marryatville left an elderly man in hospital and forced the closure of Kensington Rd earlier this year. Picture: 7 NEWS Adelaide

Exact locations for metro upgrades have not been specified.

Last year, Kensington Rd crossing in front of Marryatville High School became the subject of scrutiny, receiving a safety upgrade after two teenagers were hit by a truck on their way to school.

Earlier this year Kensington Rd in Marryatville again made headlines after both a teenage girl and an elderly man were hit by a car in two separate incidents.

“I’m pleased the first major projects under this investment have been locked in,” Mr Brock said.

“2023 was a tragic year on regional roads and these upgrades will go a long way to helping reduce the devastating impact of serious and fatal crashes on communities.”