Funding announced to fix 13 dangerous SA black spots

Millions of dollars will be poured into fixing some of SA’s most dangerous traffic black spots. Find out where.

A fatal crash on Williamstown Road in Cockatoo Valley earlier this year. Picture: Morgan Sette

Nearly $9m will be spent to improve 13 dangerous roads across SA, including Williamstown Rd in the Barossa Valley, where a driver had a fatal crash in February.

Meanwhile, pedestrian and cyclist safety will be paramount on Kensington Rd, in Norwood, with the installation of a median island and cyclist storage areas at the George/Giles streets intersection.

Infrastructure and Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the federal black spot funding was critical to delivering safety improvements at high-risk locations across the state.

“Already this year we’ve lost 50 lives on our roads,” Mr Koutsantonis said.

Infrastructure Minister Tom Koutsantonis. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

“One life lost is one too many and these projects can help to reduce the risk of road crashes and trauma on South Australian roads.”

Mr Koutsantonis said 40 per cent of fatal accidents and serious injuries were on regional roads – and the latest funding included $5m for four projects in country areas.

This included $1.8m for safety barriers, signage and line marking along Williamstown Rd, $1.8m for hazard removal, installation of safety barriers and line marking on Tarlee Rd, at Kapunda, and $1m to widen shoulders and install safety barriers along a 3km stretch of the Princes Highway, near the Coorong.

Police at the scene of a fatal accident on Williamstown Road, Cockatoo Valley, in February. Picture: Morgan Sette

In the city, funding included $1m for pedestrian and cyclist improvements on Kensington Rd, at Norwood, and $283,000 for a roundabout at Hookings Tce and Fifth Ave, in Woodville Gardens.

A driver is taken away in an ambulance after a car accident on Kensington Road, Norwood, in April. Picture: Kelly Barnes

The South Australian black spot consultative panel helped the federal government to select the sites to receive $8.9m of upgrades this financial year.

SA panel chairman and Makin MP Tony Zappia said across the 13 sites there had been more than 70 injury crashes between 2017-2022, including four fatals.

“The black spot program delivers simple and effective treatments that will significantly boost safety at these dangerous locations,” Mr Zappia said.

Federal Assistant Infrastructure and Transport Minister Carol Brown said the funding demonstrated the government’s commitment to reducing the impacts of road trauma.

“We recently announced a progressive increase to our annual commitment to the black spot program, rising from $110 million to $150 million across the country,” Ms Brown said.

“This program is driven by communities, for communities. I encourage anyone who knows of a black spot near them to consider nominating that site for investigation.”