More road works about to begin on Mannum Road
A $12 million upgrade of the freight route from Murray Bridge to Annadale is about to start.
Motorists can expect extra road works on Mannum Road and other routes north of Murray Bridge in the coming weeks.
A $12 million upgrade of the roads linking Murray Bridge with the Sturt Highway, at Annadale, is due to start in October.
Road shoulders will be sealed, drainage improved and audio-tactile edge lines installed along sections of Mannum Road, Ridley Road and Halfway House Road.
The works will cover 39 kilometres of road – almost half of the distance between the South Eastern Freeway and Sturt Highway.
The hope is that improving the route will encourage more truck drivers to take the long way around Adelaide, instead of taking the South Eastern Freeway through the Hills and suburbs.
The journey via Annadale is around 70 kilometres longer for drivers travelling – for example – from Tailem Bend to Port Wakefield.
Lifting speed limits will help reduce the extra time it takes, currently around 45 minutes.
But it would be worth it if it reduced the number of trucks on the freeway and suburban roads, improving safety and easing congestion, state Transport Minister Corey Wingard said.
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the project had been fast-tracked to “(get) money flowing back into jobs and businesses as soon as possible”.
A second stage of works – bridge-widening between Murray Bridge and Sedan – will start next year.
The cost of the upgrades, announced in June, will be shared 80-20 by the federal and state governments.
Major works are already underway on Mannum Road, where the state and federal governments are spending $14 million on an access road, pictured, that will lead to Thomas Foods International’s new meat works.
Motorists will soon be able to drive on the new tarmac laid on Mannum Road.
Kerbs and street lights are due to be installed in the coming weeks, ahead of that project’s completion in December.
- More information: www.murraybridge.sa.gov.au.
Photos: Matthew T Rader/Unsplash (top), Rural City of Murray Bridge (bottom). Image: Peri Strathearn/Google Maps.
