RAA calls for better South Eastern Freeway design upgrades

The RAA has welcomed $200m in infrastructure funding for the South Eastern Freeway, but have doubled down on its calls for a third arrester bed on the busy road.

Relocating traffic lights are a welcome upgrade but do not eliminate the need for a third arrester bed on the notorious South Eastern Freeway, the state’s peak auto body says.

The RAA says the installation of variable speed limit and median barrier gates on the freeway are “vital upgrades to improve time reliability” and response times, but the final step was a third safety ramp to improve safety.

Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis announced $200m in new funding for the freeway upgrade and traffic lights change, half from the federal government.

The upgrades mean traffic lights will be moved 40m back up the Cross Rd intersection, with the government effectively ruling out the third arrester bed.

State Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis announced $200m in new funding for the freeway upgrade and traffic lights change, half from the federal government. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

The RAA's Charles Mountain has pushed for some of the new federal infrastructure funding to be used to reconfigure the intersection at Cross, Portrush and Glen Osmond roads. Picture: Brenton Edwards

RAA senior manager of safety and infrastructure Charles Mountain said the Adelaide Hills had a growing population, and transport infrastructure needed to be “safe, reliable and accessible”.

It has also pushed for some of the funds to be used to reconfigure the Cross, Portrush and Glen Osmond Rd intersection.

“These upgrades are all positive outcomes for both safety and traffic flow – in particular the upgraded interchanges at Mt Barker and Verdun,” he said.

“The new Verdun interchange should reduce the amount of traffic needing to use River Rd in Hahndorf.

“On the freeway itself, the managed motorway elements and new movable barriers will enable traffic to move past an incident that otherwise might result in a standstill for several hours.

“But if we want to make this corridor as safe as possible, a third safety ramp would provide that final option for any out-of-control vehicles before the intersection at Cross, Glen Osmond and Portrush Roads, especially for those that misjudge the descent after the second safety ramp.

“We will continue to advocate for the government to investigate this option.”

It comes as minor delays hit inbound traffic on the South Eastern Freeway about 8am Tuesday after a collision in-between Hahndorf and Bridgewater.

Traffic quickly banked up about 2km, but cleared within 30 minutes with just a few minutes’ delay.

Another crash also caused delays on Monday morning.

Mr Koutsantonis said a managed motorway allowed authorities to identify speeding trucks or those in the wrong gear, change the freeway speed limit and clear the intersection “to make sure cars aren’t queued up there”.

“The idea we could stop every truck coming down the freeway, or that a third arrester bed is going to fix this is folly,” he said.

Liberal MP Vincent Tarzia welcomed the upgrades to the South-Eastern Freeway, but also suggested a third arrestor bed was needed.

“Upgrades and improvements that boost road safety on the South-Eastern Freeway are welcomed, but Tom Koutsantonis is still yet to present an evidence-based reason for why a third arrester bed isn’t needed,” he said.

“The safest – and smartest – option would be the implementation of various safety mechanisms, like a third arrester bed and the change of Cross Rd lights, to give truck drivers the best possible opportunity to stop without crashing or causing a traffic chaos.”