A SERIES of upgrades along the 180km corridor of the Riddoch Highway will be undertaken as part of a $5.1m upgrade to boost road safety between Mount Gambier and Keith.
The Commonwealth Government will contribute $4m towards the upgrade program, which will include surface treatments, widening existing narrow sealed shoulders, audio tactile line-marking and sealing and widening outside of curves.
Member for Barker Tony Pasin said the works will help reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries occurring on regional roads.
“The most important thing we can do for our community is ensure we all get home safely,” he said.
“Sadly around 1200 people die and 40,000 are seriously injured on our roads each year.”
“I travel in excess of 100,000km a year and so I know how important road safety is.
“I also know how fatalities and serious injuries impact communities and so I am very pleased to be making this
announcement.”
The government’s funding for the Road Safety Program is subject to ‘use it or lose it’ provisions, requiring states to use the notionally allocated funds within a timeframe, or the funds can be reallocated to projects in other jurisdictions.
The State Government will contribute $1m towards the Riddoch Highway upgrade, with Transport Minister Corey Wingard saying roadworks were among a number of shovel-ready upgrades that could be delivered quickly to help save lives sooner.
The Riddoch Highway works is one of three located in the Barker electorate, with $7.5m flowing to the Karoonda Highway and $2m for the Ngarkat Highway.
