The South Australian Government is set to match an additional $100 million allocated to the South Eastern Freeway Upgrade as part of the 2024-25 Budget.
With work on the Heysen Tunnels underway, this project involves an extension of the Managed Motorway System to improve travel time reliability and incident response.
It includes the installation of an Intelligent Transport System for lane-use management, variable speed limit signs, and median barrier gates to enable traffic contra-flow in the event of an incident.
The Federal Government is now contributing $220 million to this project, while the South Australian Government has committed $130 million.
The Mount Barker and Verdun interchanges will also be upgraded with allocations from the Federal Budget, improving access to the South Eastern Freeway and reducing traffic through Hahndorf.
The Adelaide Hills has seen the third largest population growth in the Greater Adelaide region over the past decade, particularly around Mount Barker.
These upgrades are set to cater for this growth, with the Mount Barker interchange increasing to three-lanes both north and southbound, and the Verdun interchange upgrading to a full interchange, enabling access to and from the South Eastern Freeway in all directions.
The Federal Government’s South Eastern Freeway investment is part of an over $290 million commitment towards transport infrastructure in South Australia in the Budget, with the government’s total investment in South Australian road and rail projects over the next ten years totalling $9.7 billion.
Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King, said that more than 50,000 motorists travel this section of the freeway each day, and that number is only set to grow with Adelaide Hills seeing the largest population growth in the Greater Adelaide region over the past decade.
“The Federal Government is delivering the infrastructure our community needs, investing in projects like this one which will cater for the long-term needs of our nation,” Ms King said.
“I thank the South Australian Government for working closely with us to ensure the delivery of this vital project.”
Acting South Australian Premier, Susan Close, said that the State Government welcomes this significant funding commitment from the Federal Government towards improving safety, access and connectivity in the Adelaide Hills and on the South Eastern Freeway.
“We’ve remained committed to delivering the upgrades to the interchanges at Verdun and Mount Barker to improve connectivity to the Freeway,” Ms Close said.
“The $120 million investment on those projects from the Federal Government will enable us to get on with doing just that.”
South Australian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Tom Koutsantonis, said that the Freeway is a key corridor for cars and trucks between Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills.
“The $100 million commitment from the Federal Government towards safety improvements, matched with state funds, will help manage incidents on the Freeway and maintain traffic flow when accidents do occur,” Mr Koutsantonis said.
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