A major congestion-busting road project in the Adelaide Hills has reached an important milestone with the opening of an additional lane on the South Eastern Freeway between Stirling and Crafers.
Main works will be completed this week on the jointly funded South Eastern Freeway Managed Motorway Measures Project which will see the existing emergency lane converted into a third full-time travel lane.
Federal Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure, Alan Tudge, said the Morrison Government is committed to investing in critical infrastructure across Adelaide and South Australia.
"The South Eastern Freeway is the most direct corridor between Adelaide and Melbourne providing a vital link in moving freight between eastern and central Australia," Mr Tudge said.
"This upgrade not only improves road safety but helps build communities and create jobs at a time when we need them most."
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Corey Wingard, said this important upgrade will improve safety and traffic flow for around 54,000 vehicles daily.
"We're delivering a road network that gets commuters home to their families faster but also safely," Minister Wingard said.
"No one wants to sit in traffic when they could be spending more time with their loved ones and that's why we're spending heavily on projects right across the state.
"This $21 million project includes new stimulus money allocated during the height of COVID-19 pandemic, and forms part of the Marshall Government's record $16.7 billion investment in infrastructure across the state that's creating more than 19,000 jobs."
The project also included the installation of an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) which enables the continuous monitoring of traffic conditions, the detection of incidents and the monitoring of traffic queues.
ITS infrastructure includes full road width gantries with a Lane Use Management System, Thermal Incident Detection cameras and LED lighting.
The Lane Use Management System will also be used to better direct traffic and alert motorists to incidents on the freeway.
Other works in the project include road shoulder widening, modifications to existing ramps, median construction, improved drainage, safety barrier, new central concrete safety median barrier, kerbing, line marking and asphalt works.
Testing and commissioning of the Intelligent Transport System will take place in early 2021, weather permitting, with some traffic restrictions in place for these finishing works.
