A recent announcement from the Government of South Australia will see improvements to the percentage of travel on State roads reaching 3-star or better for all road users captured in the Infrastructure SA 20-year strategy.

The benefits to health, liveable cities and regional tourism are all recognised by the Government in ensuring the State makes progress to 80% of travel on 3-star or better roads for all road users.

As the trend for greater density in urban areas grows, achieving 5-star for pedestrians and cyclists can also be a focus for supporting active mobility in central business areas.

At present, 74% of the State’s road network is rated at one or two stars out of five, significantly below the national target of 80% above three stars.

The improvement of the tourist experience and road safety infrastructure on regional roads will be a focus, where 59% of fatal road crashes occur. These improvements will include:

• sealing specific routes and upgrading some unsealed roads;
• road widening, shoulder sealing, passing lanes, fixing bottlenecks on popular regional roads, and;
• road-related infrastructure including new or enhanced parking bays, and safe pull-out areas.

Investment in job creation and capital works, as well as quick-to-plan maintenance spend were identified as key to success in saving lives and reducing the tragedy and burden of road injuries.

This also supports the State’s Covid19 stimulus package, freeing up health system capacity in the future.

Read more here

Download the full strategy here