Oaklands Crossing at Marion gets green light after months of negotiations

A SOLUTION to the congested, dangerous Oaklands Crossing at Marion finally has the green light after months of negotiations between the state and federal governments.

• Red tape holding up $190 million Oaklands Crossing upgrade
• Oaklands Crossing funding turns into political fight
• Pressure builds for fix of problem at Oaklands Park

A SOLUTION to the congested, dangerous Oaklands Crossing at Marion finally has the green light after months of negotiations between the state and federal governments.

They will today announce an agreement to build a rail underpass that will address decades of concerns over the crossing, at the intersection of Diagonal and Morphett roads in Oaklands Park.

The project was initially estimated to cost up to $190 million, but the estimate is now $174.3 million.

Local Liberal MP Nicolle Flint said the announcement delivered on a 2016 election commitment for the “critical project”.

“We are now undertaking planning works and will look at how we can harness private sector investment toward the project through value-capture development opportunities,” she said.

Heavy traffic builds up around the Oaklands Rail crossing on Diagonal Road.

An rtist impression of the Oaklands Crossing upgrade.

“The next step on this project will see finalisation of the design and layout of the upgrade.”

The Federal Government has put up an extra $55 million on top of its election commitment of $40 million, sourced from savings on the North-South Corridor.

The State Government will pitch in $74.3 million on top of that $95 million and Marion council is providing $5 million.

Premier Jay Weatherill said the two major roads converging at the crossing meant traffic was already congested and would only get worse.

“This critical upgrade will ensure easier and safer access to the nearby State Aquatic Centre, along with other retail, leisure and health facilities, addressing longstanding concerns from the local community over the intersection,” he said.

Without the upgrade, State Government modelling showed motorists were set to get stuck in traffic for an extra 11 minutes by 2031. There were also safety concerns about the existing intersection of Morphett and Diagonal roads and the Seaford rail line.

Discussions about the site began as far back as the 1970s.

An artist’s impression of the Oaklands Crossing rail underpass and road upgrade.

Last month, a lack of new funding for South Australian infrastructure in the Federal Budget sparked a fresh row.

The State Government said it had provided three reports to the Federal Government about the crossing and had been “dudded” in the Budget, while the Federal Government responded it was still missing “key pieces of information”.

The State Government had asked the Federal Government to stump up more than $100 million, triggering the need for additional red tape by Infrastructure Australia. But with the Commonwealth contribution now just under $100 million, it is understood there is more flexibility.

The new underpass will extend 400m to the east and west of the crossing, and intersections will be modified to ease the bottleneck.

Mr Mullighan said it would “significantly improve travel times for motorists who spend almost a quarter of the time during peak periods waiting at the boom gates”.

Marion mayor Kris Hanna said the council hoped to see upgrade construction start in the first half of 2018.