Upgrades to nearly 600 kilometres of SA regional highways fast-tracked with $52.7 million funding package

The government has revealed the 13 regional SA roads that will have hundreds of kilometres upgraded over the next year.

Upgrades to nearly 600 kilometres of South Australia’s most dangerous regional highways will be fast-tracked as part of a road safety funding package.

The $52.7 million in works, to completed in the 2021-22 financial year, will include road widening, shoulder sealing, new barriers, rumble strips and wide centre line treatments.

The package lists 13 road safety projects which have been have been jointly funded by the federal and state governments.

Targeted roads include the Stuart Highway, Eyre Highway and Barrier Highway.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Barnaby Joyce, said the works are aimed at lowering the road toll across the country.

“The funding supports the fast rollout of lifesaving safety works on rural and regional roads, and is another example of the Australian Government working to reduce the number of Australians missing around the dinner table due to tragedies on our roads,” he said.

The funding, which will upgrade 570 kilometres of South Australian road, is part of $3 billion committed by the federal government for the national Road Safety Program.

The most expensive of the state’s projects is upgrades to the Eyre Highway between Ceduna and Head of Bight at a cost of more than $9 million.

The Eyre Highway is one of those that will be upgraded under the funding package.

The improvements will including shoulder sealing, rumble strips on centre-lines, curve widening and surface improvements.

Another, costed at $7.5 million, will fund pavement treatment, draining, shoulder sealing and rumble strips on the Karoonda Highway between Alawoona and Karoonda.

State Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Corey Wingard, said many of the projects are shovel-ready, ensuring they can be delivered quickly.

He said the funding boost, announced Friday, would have broader benefits for regional communities.

“Our governments are working hand-in-hand to make our roads safer, while supporting employment in regional communities, with this second round of funding set to support around 570 jobs over the life of the program of works,” he said.

The national Road Safety Program funding falls under the federal government’s “use it or lose it” provisions, which require states and territories to use their notionally allocated funds within a time frame or risk relinquishing them.

The announcements follows $104.6 million in joint funding announced in January to support the acceleration of 15 road safety projects in South Australia.