The Federal and South Australian governments will use the savings gleaned from an upgrade of the Sturt Highway to build
The Federal and South Australian governments will use the savings gleaned from an upgrade of the Sturt Highway to build 3.35km of double-lane divided road to boost freight productivity.
Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Anthony Albanese says the double-lane to the Greenock to Nuriootpa junction will deliver freight faster to and from Riverland.
According to Albanese, the Rann Government saved $32.7 million on the rest of the Sturt Highway upgrade which has allowed increased investment on the route.
He says the $159 million federally-funded project can now be extended beyond the Seppeltsfield Road junction, where it was intended to be originally finished.
South Australian Minister for Transport Patrick Conlon says the extension, as well as future projects, will strengthen the State’s freight network to ensure it meets demand.
“This is one of our major freight routes and is a key part of the overall network and our significant investment in strategically upgrading it,” he says.
“In the next two years the Northern Expressway will take shape and all the parts of the puzzle will come together to ensure South Australia remains as competitive as possible when it comes to serving the export market.
Work on the extension is expected to start in early 2009 and finish in June 2010.
The new carriageway between Seppeltsfield Road and the Greenock to Nuriootpa junction will be to the south of the existing road.
It will include interchange and access improvements, duplication of the bridge over Seppeltsfield Road and construction of a culvert at Greenock Creek to replace the existing bridge.
“I am pleased that we will be able to make a longer stretch of the Highway safer both for local families and trucks carrying freight between the Riverland and Adelaide,” Albanese says.
He says the project builds on the Federal Government’s commitment to the Northern and Port River expressways, which is part of a $1.1 billion investment in South Australian roads over the next five years.