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The 2025-26 State Budget has provided welcome funding for some important road upgrades; however, road maintenance funding remains insufficient to address South Australia’s growing $2 billion backlog.
The State Budget has allocated funding for a number of road and transport projects, including:
RAA Chief Executive Officer Nick Reade said the investment in Curtis Road and commitment to the Adelaide Hills Freight Bypass would ultimately help to improve road safety and reduce congestion.
“Curtis Road was top of the list in RAA’s recent Risky Roads survey, and the removal of the level crossing, together with previously announced roundabout at Heaslip Road will go some way to improving that road,” Mr Reade said.
“Ultimately, we’d like further improvements to Curtis Road in the future, including duplicating the road and progressing associated intersection and safety upgrades.
“We’re also pleased the State Government has committed to delivering the Adelaide Hills Freight Bypass alongside the Federal Government.
“This is a long-term project that will get more trucks off the South Eastern Freeway and out of the city, improving safety and reducing congestion for all road users.
“We strongly believe this project should be funded under an 80/20 split, as opposed to the current 50/50 split, which would save South Australian taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars that could be used for other road upgrades.
“There is strong precedence for similar projects interstate being funded on this basis, and we urge the Federal Government to re-consider the current funding arrangement to ensure the project is delivered without unnecessary delays.”
Mr Reade said while these road and infrastructure projects were welcomed, it appeared South Australia’s $2 billion road maintenance backlog would continue to increase.
“Ahead of this state budget, we called for $1 billion over four years to begin tackling our $2 billion road maintenance backlog which amounts to more than 2,500 km of our road network,” Mr Reade said.
“While there appears to be a small increase in road safety maintenance, it still falls well short of what’s needed to reduce the backlog.
“That means the condition of our roads will continue to deteriorate, resulting in more potholes, crumbling shoulders and cracks that cause a risk to safety and wear and tear on vehicles.
“We also didn’t see any funding to progress duplication and upgrades to our key regional corridors, primarily the Augusta Highway – as well as the Sturt and Dukes Highways.”
RAA also welcomed the decision to make on-demand bus services permanent in Mt Barker, which has been a long-held advocacy position for RAA.
“The substantial reduction in fares for students that purchase a 28 day MetroCARD is welcome as it will reduce the daily cost of travel for thousands of students,” Mr Reade said.
“The on-demand bus service has been extremely popular in Mt Barker and RAA has been calling for some time to make this service permanent.
“RAA continues to call on the Government to trial on-demand services in other regional and outer suburb regions like Victor Harbor and Goolwa.”
Read RAA’s full State Budget Submission on the RAA website.