Elsie Adamo
THE RAA is calling on the future Federal Government to commit to long-term investment in South Australia’s road network including the Riddoch and Dukes highways.
The $7.6 billion dollar investment the RAA is seeking would be over 25-years for projects such as the Augusta, Sturt and Dukes highway duplication, which would help reduce heavy vehicle traffic on the South Eastern freeway.
RAA senior manager of safety and infrastructure Charles Mountain said planning needs to happen now before expected increased use of the Dukes Highway.
“For the South East region, the Dukes Highway duplication is something that we have identified we think is a worthy consideration,” Mr Mountain said.
“We recognise this is a long-term project, but it is ultimately going to be required to ensure the safe and efficient movement of people and freight between states.
“This is an opportunity to start to look at progressively rolling this out.”
Duplication of the Dukes Highway is the best way to save lives on that road, according to Mr Mountain.
“A lot of people have had crashes on there, and lost their lives on that road, despite the improvements that have been made progressively,” he said.
“Full duplication, that particularly includes protection between opposing lines of traffic, means the likelihood of head-on cases is almost totally eliminated.”
Mr Mountain said the RAA found that the Riddoch Highway is in need of additional overtaking lanes, which they suggest should be part of the investment.
“The Riddoch Highway was mentioned as part of our overtaking lane package for some additional lanes,” he said.
“We still think there are some more that need to be installed, particularly around Keith, to improve safety on what is becoming a busier and busier corridor.”
Regular road maintenance is also high on the RAA’s agenda, with Mr Mountain hoping recent focus and investment is continued.
“We need to see that level of investment into ensuring the network can be maintained at an appropriate level of safety and efficiency,” he said.
“It is particularly important in the regional areas where road users almost totally rely on their road network to get to and from business, and for tourism as well.”
