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South Australia’s riskiest roads as voted by the community have been revealed by RAA – with a notorious northern suburbs stretch taking out top spot for the first time.
Curtis Road between Munno Para and Angle Vale received the most nominations as part of RAA’s Risky Roads survey, with more than 100 locals dobbing it in for severe congestion and safety concerns.
Risky Roads is the biggest state-wide survey aimed at identifying unsafe roads or intersections, with the results used by RAA to advocate for infrastructure improvements. The survey received more than 1,800 nominations.
Curtis Road is also home to the state’s riskiest intersection – at the junction with Heaslip Road in Angle Vale – which was the most nominated intersection for the second survey in a row. In second place on the intersections list is also the corner of Curtis and Andrews Roads.
In second place overall, Victor Harbor Road was dobbed in as the riskiest regional road in the state, for its lack of maintenance and poor layout south of the recent duplication to McLaren Vale.
Victor Harbor Road makes up one of five Fleurieu Peninsula roads in the top ten regional roads list, with others including Main South Road, Main Road between McLaren Vale and Willunga, Goolwa Road and Inman Valley Road.
Overall, the top 10 Risky Roads in South Australia as voted by the community were:
On Curtis Road, there were 143 crashes where someone was injured or killed between 2019-2023 – with the crash rate getting worse as traffic volumes increase.
The number of vehicles using Curtis Road has grown by 21% since 2017, with sections of the road carrying more than 24,000 vehicles each day.
Last year, RAA welcomed a $30m funding announcement for a dual lane roundabout at the Curtis Road and Heaslip Road intersection, as well as the $125m in the federal budget to remove the level crossing on Curtis Road.
Line marking changes at the Curtis Road and Andrews Road intersection have also helped improve traffic flow in the short-term by adding a right turn lane.
In the longer term, RAA believes duplicating Curtis Road is imperative to reduce the number of crashes and improve traffic flow.
RAA is also recommending Curtis Road be under the control of State Government – not the Playford Council – due to its significance to the northern suburbs road network as a direct link between Main North Road and the Northern Expressway.
RAA Senior Traffic Engineer Matt Vertudaches said the survey highlighted the pressure on Adelaide’s road network, especially in the northern suburbs.
“At RAA we want to advocate for safer roads and safer communities, and our Risky Roads survey is a key study that helps us identify areas of concern,” Mr Vertudaches said
“Clearly, drivers in the northern suburbs aren’t satisfied with the condition of many of their roads – seven of the top 10 metro roads were located north of Adelaide.
“This result was not unexpected, and reinforces RAA’s calls for infrastructure investment in the northern suburbs following the Northern Adelaide Transport Study.
“Curtis Road in particular has been a bug bear of locals for many years as the population in the area has grown, and RAA welcomes the recent announcement that the intersection of Curtis and Heaslip Roads will be upgraded as an important first step.
“Ultimately, however, Curtis Road needs to be duplicated, where a dual roadway is constructed to improve traffic flow, to cater for the growth in the area.
“Duplication of Curtis Road would also allow for improvements to intersections along the corridor such as at Peachey Road, which recorded the second highest number of intersection casualty crashes in SA between 2019 and 2023.
“Given its role as an arterial corridor, RAA believes Curtis Road should be transferred to the control of the State Government to ensure the project receives the necessary attention and resources.”
Mr Vertudaches said road maintenance was the most common concern raised across the top 10 metro and regional roads.
“It’s no secret South Australia has a $2bn road maintenance backlog – and that came through loud and clear from respondents.
“Sections of Victor Harbor Road, Main North Road and Black Top Road were just a few examples where drivers feel the poor surface is posing a risk to safety.
“We continue to call for more investment to address our road maintenance backlog to improve safety, before the problem gets even worse.”
For the full Risky Roads Report and Fact Sheet, click here.