Fair Go for our Regions: Leaders call for upgrades before population, industry boom

Civic leaders are calling for road improvements between the iron triangle towns of Whyalla, Port Pirie and Port Augusta, as the region braces for new industry and a population boom.

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Civic leaders are calling for road improvements between the iron triangle towns of Whyalla, Port Pirie and Port Augusta, as the region braces for new industry and a population boom.

Whyalla Council chief executive Chris Cowley said with more than $1 billion of projects planned in the region a duplication of the Augusta Highway was needed to improve safety.

“With the upper Spencer Gulf experiencing high levels of commercial development, we can only expect the levels of vehicles that will traverse from Port Pirie, Port Augusta and Whyalla to increase substantially,” Mr Cowley said.

“Recently, two sets of overtaking lanes have been created, which we welcome and they have worked to provide a level of safety, but the optimal outcome is a duplication of that road.”

SIMEC Zen Energy is building a US$1 billion 280MW solar farm at Cultana, just outside of Whyalla, while GFG Alliance will invest $600 million into Whyalla’s steelworks.

The RAA has pledged to make the duplication of a 200km stretch from Port Wakefield to Port Augusta a federal election issue as it links Adelaide to the state’s north.

The stretch of road has previously been called a “death corridor” by the Civil Contractors Federation of SA, which estimated it would cost $1.2 billion to duplicate in 2016.

Norm Smith of Port Augusta at the Joy Baluch AM Bridge. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

Port Pirie Mayor Leon Stephens has also backed a push to duplicate the Augusta Highway.

“To have economic growth, and with our position of having one of the largest lead smelters in the world, duplication for a dual highway between Adelaide and Whyalla should be the very least we accept,” Mr Stephens said.

Mr Stephens said some sections of the road also needed a surface upgrade, including the stretch between Redhill and Crystal Brook.

“If you’re going through there at 100-110km/h, the road has big ruts in it and you can actually aquaplane in your vehicle,” Mr Stephens said.

“We’ve got a good record from outside West Virginia to Port Wakefield … but the road gets progressively worse as you get towards the Mid North and Port Augusta and Whyalla.”

In December an elderly Port Pirie couple were killed when their car and a truck collided at Augusta Highway’s intersection with Lake View Rd, near Redhill.

Port Augusta Mayor Brett Benbow said traffic on the highway had increased “dramatically” in recent years, with many more B-double trucks on the road.

He believed highway should be duplicated — at least between Adelaide and his hometown — but potentially all the way to Whyalla if the projected population boom came to fruition.

“With the congestion on the road it becomes unsafe,” Mr Benbow said.

“If you have two or three B-doubles and then two or three caravans in the same link, it becomes a very slow trip.

“Cars can’t pass people before the overtaking lanes run out.”

Port Augusta awaits $200m upgrade to ‘vital’ link

Work on a $200 million upgrade of Port Augusta’s Joy Baluch Bridge will begin towards the end of this year, strengthening a “vital” link in Australia’s transport network.

Port Augusta Council chief executive John Banks said the work, backed by $160 million in Federal Government funding and $40 million in State Government cash, would secure the future of a key part of the country’s freight system.

“It’s an absolutely vital piece of transport infrastructure — not only for the region but also nationally,” Mr Banks said.

The width of the bridge, named after the town’s former mayor, will double, allowing an extra lane in each direction.

Mr Banks said when accidents and breakdowns happened near the bridge, traffic was forced to take a 26km detour through ‘Yorkey Crossing’, which must also be closed following “relatively small levels of rain”.

Port Augusta’s Joy Baluch Bridge. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

“Not only do you split the town in two but you also stop traffic across Australia,” he said.

Norm Smith, 58, who uses a gofer, is looking forward to the upgrade, which will improve pedestrian safety by widening footpaths and separating cars from foot traffic.

“When this went up, there wasn’t as much heavy traffic as there is these days,” Mr Smith said.

“When we have situations where an ambulance or fire brigade is needed on the west side and there’s a break down or accident, there’s no way of getting over the bridge. I’ve seen traffic banked up for miles and miles.”

Port Augusta Mayor Brett Benbow said about 13,000 vehicles used the bridge each day.

“The original bridge, which is there now, didn’t cater for pedestrians at all,” Mr Benbow said.

“In our modern era we have people in mopeds and walking dogs and if you’re walking on the bridge and there are people going in opposite directions, it’s a real struggle.”

Mr Benbow said with big plans to ramp up steel production in Whyalla and quadruple the town’s population to 80,000 by 2040, the bridge’s upgrade was now even more vital than ever.

A Transport Department spokesman said the project was in its design phase and there would be more consultation as planning progressed.

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