More South Australian roads are getting a much-needed safety upgrade with a $52.7 million funding injection to fast-track the delivery of 13 new road safety projects that spans 570 kilometres overall.
This builds on the $104.6 million joint funding under the Road Safety Program that was announced in January of this year.
“Our Government is committed to doing its part to keep people safe on our roads, whether it’s just a quick trip to local shops or a longer journey to visit more distant friends and family.
“The funding supports the fast roll-out of life-saving safety works on rural and regional roads, and is another example of the Australian Government working to reduce the number of Australians missing around the dinner table due to tragedies on our roads,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Barnaby Joyce said.
These project – which are anticipated to be completed within the 2021-22 financial year – include several shovel-ready upgrades at targeted high-priority locations across South Australia that can be delivered quickly to help save lives sooner.
“Upgrades include delivering much-needed road widening, shoulder sealing, new barriers, rumble strips to alert drivers they are moving out of their lane and wide centre line treatments on high-risk roads across the state.
“Our governments are working hand in hand to make our roads safer, while supporting employment in regional communities, with this second round of funding set to support around 570 jobs over the life of the program of works,” SA Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Corey Wingard said.
Road safety across the country is a key priority for the Australian Government and about $1.5 billion has been provided through the Road Safety Program to get works underway on crucial road safety improvements and shovel-ready projects.
“Making our roads safer is a critical component of our work to reduce deaths and serious injuries on our roads and move towards achieving vision zero – that is zero deaths or serious injuries on our roads by 2050.
“We are unwavering in our continued investment in life-saving road safety initiatives, with this additional funding complementing the work of our Black Spot Program, Targeted Road Safety Works initiative and the Road Safety Innovation Fund,” Federal Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport Scott Buchholz said.
Funding committed through the Road Safety Program are subject to ‘use it or lose it’ provisions which requires states and territories to utilise their notionally allocated funds within a timeframe, with any unused funds reallocated to projects in other jurisdictions.
The projects delivered under the program aims to provide life-saving upgrades on regional roads as well as protect vulnerable motorists across South Australia, support local jobs and provide a boost to local economies.
Source: Premier of South Australia – Media Releases; Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport; Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development