Britannia Roundabout to get $3.2m overhaul in South Australia State Budget
ADELAIDE'S notorious Britannia roundabout will be split in two in an attempt to ease traffic conditions. | Video: Take a virtual drive | Use taxes for roads: RAA
ADELAIDE'S notorious Britannia roundabout will be split in two in an attempt to ease traffic conditions.
Premier and Treasurer Jay Weatherill this morning revealed the latest solution for the five-way roundabout will be to create a second roundabout.
The existing single roundabout design would be reconfigured into a dual roundabout intersection comprising a four-leg roundabout adjacent to a three-leg roundabout, separated by a raised solid median.
The new, second roundabout will be at the end of Dequetteville Terrace to help traffic turning right into Wakefield Road.
Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis said new road signs would be installed on the approaches to the intersection to help drivers select the correct lane.
The State Government hopes the change will reduce the number of road crashes and free up the flow of traffic.
Mr Weatherill said modelling showed the new design would give drivers more space and time and slow the speed that vehicles enter the intersection.
The government will allocate $3.2 million towards the project in the 2013-14 Budget, to be handed down on Thursday.
The redevelopment is expected to be completed by early next year.
"Motoring and road safety groups have long identified fixing this roundabout as a priority," Mr Weatherill said.
"But a practical solution has been difficult to find because of the extremely high cost of construction or proposals that impinged too heavily on the nearby parklands.
"Engineers have devised a solution that does not require costly underpasses, overpasses or new roads that would cut a swathe through the parklands."
The announcement came as the RAA's Risky Roads Study found that deteriorating conditions on local roads - such as pot holes, uneven surfaces, poor layout and inefficient traffic signals - were the biggest issues for users.
The RAA is using the study - the largest road audit in its history - to mount a Risky Roads Campaign, challenging governments to fix the problems and address the estimated $200 million-plus backlog of maintenance on the state's roads.
Bicycle and trucking groups are supporting the call for an increase in maintenance spending.
RAA senior road safety manager Charles Mountain said the report had been forwarded to the State Government and the organisation was now waiting for a response.
Use taxes to pay for road upkeep: RAA
"As the voice of the motoring community, we are putting this issue on those who are responsible for improving the road network," Mr Mountain said.
"Motorists would like to see more spent on roads - and not necessarily big-spending projects but on upkeep and maintenance."
Recent headlines have been dominated by rival multimillion-dollar projects proposed for South Rd by Labor and the Coalition in the lead-up to this year's Federal Election.
No deadline on South Rd upgrade
But Mr Mountain said clearing the "backlog in maintenance" on roads across the state was just as important.
The majority of public nominations to the RAA's study involved local road issues.
More than 2320 nominations - or 63 per cent - raised road design as a safety risk on suburban and country roads.
These included poor speed signage, no street lighting, lack of barriers, faded road markings, unsealed road shoulders and poor road layout.
Objects - such as overgrown vegetation - blocking motorists views were also among the common risks identified.
Criticism came not only from motorists, as pedestrians highlighted the lack of crossings as a risk. Cyclists said a lack of bicycle lanes and uneven surfaces compromised their safety.
Earlier this year The Advertiser reported that a third of all official requests to upgrade accident black spots in the state were being rejected due to the lack of funds.
This financial year the Federal Government budgeted $4.7 million for black spot funding - $1 million less than in 2010-11.
Mr Mountain said the response to the study had uncovered problems with "some roads which would otherwise have slipped under the radar".
"Maintenance does not have the equivalent cost of building new roads, especially things like vegetation clearance, line marking or shoulder sealing," he said. "But it can can make a huge difference to road safety."
The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure said it was considering the RAA report.
"In the current year, the State Government - in conjunction with the Federal Government - is spending more than $100 million maintaining more than 13,000km of sealed roads and another 10,000km of unsealed roads across the state," the department said.
South Rd interchange to cost nearly $1 billion
Unley Rd was identified in the RAA study as being "too narrow", lacking a median strip and a no-parking clearway.
Unley bike store owner Karen Alexander, 47, counts her lucky stars that she does not have to turn right on to Unley Rd when she leaves work.
She says whenever she does, the heavy traffic and parked cars along the narrow strip make life as a motorist very difficult.
"It's impossible to turn right because the traffic's so heavy," she said. "I don't even try. I go around the back way if I have to turn right - it's too hard."
Ms Alexander said cars parking in bike lanes along Unley Rd were also an issue.
"Cyclists have to go out and around," she said.
AvantiPlus-Unley worker and cyclist Matt Eddey, 46, said it was "hectic" on the bike and he often copped abuse from motorists, despite staying in the designated bike lanes.
"I get cars behind me leaning on their horns and yelling abuse," he said.
Mr Eddey also said the narrow Unley Rd was quite crowded by signs in the middle of the road.