Curtis Rd needs duplication, traffic report into 1300-home Playford Alive East estate finds – but who will pay?

A fight is brewing over who should fund a major road, with a report saying it needs to be duplicated to cope with thousands of new homes. See the pics.

A notorious road in Adelaide’s northern suburbs is over capacity at points and will need full duplication to cope with new housing, a report into a proposed 1300-home estate says.

But the warning has sparked a war of words between governments and Playford Council – which owns the road – over who should pay the huge bill.

The state government says Playford Council has underfunded the road, spending just $268,000 over the past ten years on it.

“Curtis Rd is a council-owned asset but given the years of underinvestment by the City of Playford, the state government is now looking at all options to improve the traffic management, road quality and safety,” said Urban Development Minister Nick Champion.

But Playford Mayor Glenn Docherty said traffic congestion along the road – and other key-east roads in the area – “has been driven for many years by state government land rezonings, releases, and ongoing housing developments”.

“The state government’s addition of 1300 new homes at Playford Alive East further heightens the need for a long-term solution,” he said.

Nearly 20,000 cars a day use Curtis Rd, which runs along Renewal SA’s proposed expansion of Playford Alive at Munno Para, sparking multiple campaigns for upgrades.

But with another 1400 homes across Angle Vale, the expansion would place even more pressure on Curtis Rd, warranting duplication in the near future.

“It is likely that an eventual full duplication of Curtis Road will be required at some point in time to accommodate volumes associated with the subject site and broader developments,” the report warns.

It says the Curtis Rd/Main North Rd intersection is over capacity and will likely need an overpass even without the 71ha housing estate, which would be home to thousands of people, five apartment blocks up to six storeys, a huge park and aged-care centre.

An artist impression of Playford Alive East at Munno Para, with Curtis Rd along the bottom It will see another 1300 homes built in the next eight years.

Concept image for part of the landscaping at the proposed 1300-home Playford Alive East development, at Munno Para, along Curtis Rd. Picture: Aspect Studios

Mr Champion challenged Playford Council to match $15m the government vowed for Curtis Rd when it announced Playford Alive East

Duplication costs would likely run into the hundreds of millions – a new dual-lane roundabout at the Curtis and Heaslip intersection will cost $30m.

Concept image for the proposed 1300-home Playford Alive East development, at Munno Para, along Curtis Rd. Picture: Aspect Studios

Local federal MP Matt Burnell said he “had a gutful of council’s lame excuses and attempts to shift blame on Curtis Rd”.

He said the federal government had given Playford Council $10m for local roads and “more in general grants than any other council in SA”, but none of that went to Curtis Rd.

“Playford has an annual operating income in excess of $150m and residents of Playford are left scratching their head on where on earth this money goes, because it certainly does not get spent on Curtis Rd,” he said.

“When another opportunity came beckoning with the Housing Support Program, with targeted funding to upgrade infrastructure in residential areas, instead of applying for Curtis Road, the City of Playford applied for an ice arena!

Federal MP for Spence Matt Burnell at the Curtis Road and Heaslip Road intersection where a $30m federal and state grant has been awarded to fix the notorious intersection

“Where is the $150m the council earns every year going?”

Mr Docherty said a 2023 traffic study critical to design and fund Curtis Rd upgrade has not been released to council despite “repeated” requests.

“When the study is shared, council and the state government can work together to deliver a long-term, comprehensive solution for Curtis Rd.”

The report pinpoints the worst spots of Curtis Rd – the intersections with Main North, Coventry, Stebonheath and Peachey roads – where extra lanes will be needed at the minimum.

Playford Alive East will offer about 440 on-street carparks with a diverse range of housing planned from very small frontages of 5.5m wide to 24m, and property sizes from 149 to 732 sqm.

Two parks are planned – one a larger, central 1.1ha “neighbourhood park” – with multipurpose sport courts, play spaces, a sand pit, open lawn areas, picnic and BBQ shelters and fitness stations.

Originally published as Curtis Rd needs duplication, traffic report into 1300-home Playford Alive East estate finds – but who will pay?