Motorists rate the worst South Australian roads and intersections for 2019 in RAA survey
The roads and intersections rated the worst in South Australia have been revealed in a survey by the RAA. These are the 20 locations that drive motorists around the bend.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Nine homes to go for $5m roundabout to fix dangerous intersection
- How to get the most out of your Advertiser digital subscription
A neglected Mid North highway and a notorious Adelaide Hills roundabout have been rated as the worst road and worst intersection in South Australia.
The RAA Risky Roads 2019 survey found Horrocks Highway and the Blackwood roundabout to be the most dangerous, challenging or frustrating on the state’s road network.
It has identified road surface conditions and intersection designs as the biggest “pain points” across the state, where regional highways feature prominently.
RAA safety and infrastructure senior manager Charles Mountain said the survey gave an overview of how people felt about SA’s roads and intersections as part of their daily journey.
“It’s important when people use roads or intersections they feel confident about how they’re supposed to operate,” Mr Mountain told The Advertiser.
“If there are improvements that can be identified and invested in it makes the road network safer, which is really the outcome we want to achieve.”
SA’s risky roads mapped
The most frequently raised road issues were uneven or undulating surface (18.4 per cent), potholes or cracks (14.2 per cent) and crumbling road edges (10.2 per cent).
The biggest intersection concerns were poor or confusing layout (18.3 per cent), inadequate crossing or turning opportunity (11.8 per cent) and inefficient traffic signals (8.8 per cent).
Mr Mountain said a $55 million upgrade to the Horrocks Highway, announced in the State Budget last June, needed to be complete as soon as possible.
“It’s a key road to the Clare Valley and further north of the state and is a very popular corridor for tourism and agriculture,” he said.
Mr Mountain said that, despite a $3.5 million upgrade, the Blackwood roundabout needed more funding to improve safety.
“When the investment was done on Britannia roundabout most people were broadly supportive of the outcomes to the point where we’ve seen more traffic attracted to that corridor,” he said.
Mr Mountain said a reduced speed limit on the approach to the roundabout would help motorists feel more confident.
The RAA survey shows there were 2388 casualty crashes on each of the top 10 worst regional and metropolitan roads, and at the top 10 worst intersections, between 2014 and 2018.
Those crashes resulted in 73 deaths and 2447 injuries. The survey also shows six of the top 10 worst roads are not currently scheduled for upgrades or maintenance.
Mr Mountain said SA’s road network was “vitally important to the sustainability and growth of the state”.
“We recognise it’s a challenge because South Australia is a large state with a relatively sparse population and yet a very extensive network,” he said.
“The road network is critical to support tourism, freight, agribusiness and the general movement of people between regions and across the state.”
More than 1340 nominations were received from motorists, pedestrians and cyclists who identified almost 600 roads and intersections they found unsafe or confusing.
The RAA survey, conducted between November 6 and December 16, 2019, followed previous editions by the state’s peak motoring body in 2013 and 2017.
Four roads – Horrocks Highway, Main South Rd, Main North Rd and Owen Rd – and two intersections – Blackwood roundabout and Main South Rd, Tatachilla Rd and Maslin Beach Rd, Tatachilla – featured in the top 10 of the 2017 and 2019 surveys.
The 2019 survey shows more than $200 million has been spent, and a further $580 million committed, for upgrades to the top 10 roads and intersections identified in 2017.
Read the full RAA Risky Roads 2019 survey here and tell us in the comments below which road or intersection you believe is the worst in South Australia.