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Road safety in the Riverland has been boosted by a recent Sturt Highway upgrade, but some key corridors in the region are still in need of repair work – according to RAA’s latest regional road assessment.
RAA undertook an assessment of the road network in the Riverland late last year, reviewing the safety and efficiency of transport infrastructure on behalf of local road users.
It found that the recent $87.5m upgrade of Sturt Highway has delivered substantial safety improvements including new barriers and six additional overtaking lanes.
There are now 27 overtaking lanes between Greenock and the Victorian border, with RAA urging drivers to be patient and use these opportunities to overtake slower vehicles wherever possible – as more than 2km of clear road is often needed to safely overtake long vehicles at 110km/h.
Between 2019-2023, 20 lives were lost in road crashes on the Sturt Highway – meaning it accounts for a large portion of the lives lost in the Riverland.
The state’s peak motoring body believes duplication of the Highway is still a vital long-term project that would greatly reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries in the region.
RAA’s report also welcomed the new roundabout installed at the intersection of the Sturt Highway and Old Sturt Highway in Barmera – a treatment that RAA’s previous report in 2018 had recommended.
This intersection was previously one of SA’s most dangerous regional junctions, with three fatal crashes occurring between 2014-2019.
Other findings of the new report include:
RAA Senior Traffic Engineer Matt Vertudaches said the upgrades since RAA’s last Riverland assessment in 2018 were welcome.
“Since our last detailed assessment of the road network in the Riverland there have been some welcome infrastructure improvements – especially along the Sturt Highway,” Mr Vertudaches said.
“With 27 overtaking lanes at regular intervals before the Victorian border there are plenty of opportunities for drivers to pass slower vehicles safely.
“With vision of multiple near-misses on the corridor emerging in recent weeks due to unsafe overtaking manoeuvres, we’re urging drivers to be patient and wait for these overtaking lanes, or only pass if you’re certain it is safe to do so.
“Overtaking long vehicles with a lack of clear sight distance or clear road puts yourself and other road users at risk.
“Single vehicle run-off-road crashes are the most common crash types on Sturt Highway, and we welcome new barrier installations along the length of the highway which will reduce the severity of these crashes.
“In the long-term, however, duplicating this corridor will contribute significantly to improved road safety outcomes in the region, as it will separate the oncoming traffic completely.
“So we continue to call for this project to be funded into the future.
“We also heard from the community that maintenance on some key corridors is an ongoing issue. This is a common concern raised across the state given we have a $2bn road maintenance backlog that needs to be addressed.”
Read the full RAA Riverland Road Assessment update on RAA’s website.