Three stars at best: Murraylands' worst roads rated

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The state government has praised the latest road-safety ratings from the Australian Road Assessment Program, but local MPs aren't convinced the ratings are a cause for celebration.

The latest Australian Road Assessment Program ratings show that South Australia's high-speed network is safer, according to the state government, with a 54% increase in the length of roads with three-star or higher ratings since 2014.

Roads are rated on a scale from one to five, with five stars being the safest.

But no road in the Murraylands was rated more highly than three stars.

The Dukes, Princes and Karoonda Highways and Reedy Creek Road, between Murray Bridge and Palmer, were among the major routes to achieve just a two-star rating.

Rated one star, the lowest, were a 600-metre stretch of Burdett Road between the Karoonda turn-off and Sunnyside; and most of Hunter Road between Mannum and Bowhill.

Tony Pasin MP, Federal Member for Barker, reacted strongly to the State Government's positive spin on the recent road ratings.

"If Minister Joe Szakacs thinks these results are something to celebrate," Mr Pasin said, "I'd encourage him to spend more time driving on Murraylands roads.

"No major road in our region has achieved a four or five-star safety rating."

Mr Pasin added that the state government had "failed to progress critical infrastructure projects for our region, including duplication of the Swanport Bridge; and has been unable to secure a funding agreement with the federal Labor government for the Greater Adelaide Heavy Vehicle Bypass.

"Instead, regional motorists are left driving roads with crumbling shoulders, deteriorating surfaces and potholes, while the government tries to convince them their condition is improving."

Robert Roylance MP, Member for Hammond, had a more measured response to the Austroads star ratings, but agreed that some of the roads in his electorate were dangerous.

"It's a positive that they're focusing on these roads," he said.

"It's just it needs ongoing maintenance and regular attention."

Mr Roylance's office is located on Mannum Road, one of the roads that Austroads rated.

Certain parts of Mannum Road were given low two-star ratings, as were parts of the connecting Ridley Road, near Mannum.

Mr Roylance said that on Mannum Road, "there are segments that do need to be maintained".

"(I) would love to see a slow-vehicle turn-out lane installed, or at least suggested."

However, Mr Roylance recognised there had been improvements to Mannum Road.

"For Mannum Road, as we see more and more congestion in the growth of Murray Bridge (and) Strathalbyn, what used to be a relatively simple road has developed.

"In the past five years it has been a much better road - shouldering work's been done and commenced and finished, so that has been good.

"But the more attention can be put on these roads that are seeing increased amounts of traffic, absolutely these are what we need."

Mr Roylance stressed how dangerous sections of Ridley Road are.

"It becomes a danger if they get neglected - when you have emergency services swerving and weaving between pot holes," he said.

Entire segments of the road were unfit for use, he said, and vehicles were shouldering the roads to avoid those pot holes.

"They're also breaking the law in a sense," he said.

"To avoid damaging their vehicle, they're taking a risk, and it's always a risk when you shoulder a road that doesn't have sufficient space.

"If you have ongoing traffic, that complicates the issue.

"We're talking about creating dangerous situations here."

Mr Roylance visited some dangerous sections of Ridley Road and even measured some pot holes on it.

"One of them we measured has a gradient of about two inches," he said.

"When we went out there, we saw a council vehicle, a flatbed truck, and there was no signage ... they were just shovelling wet asphalt into a hole, whacking it down with a shovel and moving on; then two minutes later, the truck comes over, and it just flicks it out again."

Mr Roylance also said that the heavy road usage in Hammond would increase as (the) Palmer wind farm began construction.

Yet he believed the dangerous road situation was manageable, so he welcomed the attention local roads got through the Austroads ratings.

• More information: austroads.maps.arcgis.com.