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Liberals promise extra $315 million for Swanport Bridge and Monarto bypass

A federal Coalition government will guarantee more funding for a freight route around Murray Bridge, and sooner, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has announced.

Peri Strathearn

Apr 7, 2025 — 3 min read

Adrian Pederick and Tony Pasin say only a federal Coalition government can guarantee Murray Bridge a freight bypass. Photo: Peri Strathearn.

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Only a federal Coalition government can guarantee a second Swanport Bridge and a Murray Bridge freight bypass, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has said on a visit to South Australia.

As the election campaign entered its second week, Mr Dutton one-upped Labor on Tuesday by promising more money for the project, and sooner.

A Coalition government would spend $840 million on:

Duplicating the South Eastern Freeway’s Swanport Bridge
Getting heavy truck traffic out of Murray Bridge by upgrading Ferries-McDonald, Schenscher and Pallamana Roads at Monarto
Building another bypass around Truro
Upgrading other sections of the north-south freight route

That’s $315 million more than Labor promised two weeks ago, and for good reason.

SA Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis suggested last week that the state government would only be willing to fund 20 per cent of the project’s cost.

The extra funding promised by the Coalition would make up the difference.

Mr Dutton also promised that a Coalition government would start the first stage of the freight route upgrade – the Truro bypass – before the end of 2025.

Redirecting trucks away from the South Eastern Freeway would not only keep them off Hindmarsh and Maurice Roads in Murray Bridge; it would also reduce heavy vehicle traffic by as much as 60 per cent on Cross and Portrush Roads in Adelaide.

“This exciting project will cut congestion and improve the safety of Adelaide suburban streets, as well as making a significant improvement to the national freight task,” Mr Dutton said.

Peter Dutton, centre left, promises extra funding for a Greater Adelaide freight bypass at Glen Osmond on Tuesday morning. Photo: Tony Pasin MP/Facebook.

Federal Liberal MP Tony Pasin welcomed the commitment, describing the Swanport Bridge in particular as a major “choke point” for road transport in SA.

“The Greater Adelaide freight bypass is vital for increasing the productivity, efficiency and safety of South Australia’s freight network,” he said.

“The only thing standing in the way now is Tom Koutsantonis and the state government.”

State Liberals commit to funding

State MP Adrian Pederick said SA’s Liberals would happily commit the remaining $210 million needed to complete the new bridge and bypass.

Duplicating the Swanport Bridge would both save lives and allow bigger trucks – B-triples – to transport freight across South Australia more efficiently, he said.

“Driving up to this bridge in 1979 and seeing a single-lane bridge each way was disappointing, especially when this was lauded in the media at the time as the best thing since sliced bread,” he said.

He urged Premier Peter Malinauskas and Mr Koutsantonis to step up and match the state Liberals’ commitment so work could get started.

Between their refusal to commit to the project, and federal Labor’s refusal to fund more than 50% of it, opposition transport spokesman Ben Hood said it was clear that the Liberals were the bypass’ best bet.

Eastern suburbs MP Jack Batty argued that the bypass was needed, not just for country folks but for those in the city, too.

“I drive down Portrush Road every day,” he said.

“It is lined with schools, shops, nursing homes and pedestrians – not things that should be mixing with B-doubles.

“My local community should not have to wait another decade, or for another tragedy, before we see action on this issue.”

Nationals match federal Liberal commitment

Meanwhile, the National Party – the other party in the federal Coalition – has announced it, too would support an 80:20 funding split for the Murray Bridge bypass.

In fact, local candidate Jonathan Pietzsch said he supported the same funding split for all federal-state road projects.

Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s decision to shift to a 50:50 split had put the brakes on more than $30 billion worth of road projects, Mr Pietzsch said.

“The Albanese government ignored warnings from an independent review ... that scrapping the 80:20 funding formula would result in reduced investment in regional roads, and that is exactly what we have seen,” he said.