New road safety upgrades and improvements will be delivered in Barker thanks to funding from the Australian Government.
Federal Member for Barker Tony Pasin said the funding will deliver crucial road safety upgrades as well as supporting shovel-ready construction activity.
A total of $11.68 million will be shared across three projects in Barker. These projects include:
| Project | Treatments To Be Applied | C’Wealth Contribution | State Contribution |
| Riddoch Highway | Upgrades along the 180km corridor between Mount Gambier and Keith including surface treatment, widen existing narrow sealed shoulders, Audio Tactile Linemarking, seal and widen outside of curves. | $4,080,000 | $1,020,000 |
| Ngarkat Highway | Upgrades will be between Dukes Highway to just south of Pinaroo including shoulder sealing, surface treatment and Audio Tactile Linemarking on edge and centrelines. | $1,600,000 | $400,000 |
| Karoonda Highway | Upgrades will be between Burdett then through to Veitch including pavement treatment to fix wheel rutting, and skid resistance, drainage, shoulder sealing, Audio Tactile Linemarking. | $6,000,000 | $1,500,000 |
“These works will help to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries occurring on our roads,” said Mr Pasin.
“I am pleased to see that road safety projects on the Riddoch Highway, Ngarkat Highway and Karoonda Highway will be delivered under the Road Safety Program,”
“The most important thing we can do for our community is ensure we all get home safely. Sadly around 1,200 people die and 40,000 are seriously injured on our roads each year.”
“I travel in excess of 100,000km a year and so I know how important road safety is. I also know how fatalities and serious injuries impact communities and so I am very pleased to be making this announcement.” Mr Pasin said.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Barnaby Joyce said one life lost on Australian roads is one too many.
“That’s why the Australian Government has committed $3 billion for the nationwide Road Safety Program,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
“Our Government is committed to keeping our communities safe, while securing our economic recovery.
“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.”
The Australian Government’s funding for the Road Safety Program is subject to ‘use it or lose it’ provisions and will deliver life-saving treatments on regional roads and protect vulnerable road users across the South Australia, while also supporting local jobs and providing a welcome boost to local economies.
The ‘use it or lose it’ provisions require states and territories to use their notionally allocated funds within a timeframe, or the funds can be reallocated to projects in other jurisdictions.
“This funding provides a critical boost to local jobs and the economy in an uncertain environment, but it also delivers life-saving upgrade works to keep people safe on our roads,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport Scott Buchholz said road safety was a key priority for the Australian Government and this investment in road upgrades would provide a boost to the economy while ensuring Australians can get home sooner and safer.
“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,” Mr Buchholz said.
“We are also investing significantly in other life-saving road safety initiatives including the Black Spot Program, Targeted Road Safety Works initiative and Road Safety Innovation Fund.
“This additional funding complements that work, resulting in an even greater roll out of improved infrastructure and roads right across the nation.”
For more information on the Australian Government’s road safety initiatives, visit www.officeofroadsafety.gov.au.
