Federal opposition leader Peter Dutton has announced the Coalition, if elected on May 3, will contribute $840 million to deliver the greater Adelaide Freight Bypass.
The Coalition says the bypass would remove up to 60 per cent of heavy vehicles from the city’s South Eastern Freeway between Murray Bridge and Adelaide.
“Our announcement means that a Coalition government will contribute 80 per cent of the cost of this project, and that will mean that this the South Australian state government has money spare to spend on other road projects,” he says.
“We can’t have trucks coming down one of the most dangerous intersections and road corridors in our country and pretend that nothing is to be done about it.
“The Prime Minister came to Adelaide and he promised 50 per cent funding for this project.”
Last month, the federal government announced it would provide $525 million over 10 years for the project, which is the first part of its High Productivity Vehicle Network.
The funding is part of Labor’s planned 2025-26 budget, with several road upgrades and bypasses part of the allocation.
South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas says the different funding arrangements mean he will wait for the election result to determine the state’s budget in June.
MORE OWNERDRIVER TRENDING STORIES:
- April Fools: Scania enters pick up truck market
- Check out the 2024 Truck of the Year
- TOTM: A tribute Mack for Mick
- Major competitor buys substantial shares in Lindsay Australia
- Lindsay Australia announces acquisition of GJ Freight
“We will always welcome a better than 50:50 split. This is a national highway project, it’s not a local metropolitan road so we think that 50:50 should only be a baseline, we’d love to see a growth from there,” he says.
The premier asked voters to look at the total package on offer from both parties before deciding.
South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA) chief executive Steve Shearer has told ABC Radio Adelaide says the offer that is most likely to deliver an effective Hills bypass is the Coalition’s.
He says the big question is now on whether the Labor government will match this funding. He says that a new bypass will still see plenty of traffic on the South Eastern Freeway.
“Forty per cent of the trucks that come down the freeway are Adelaide Hills trucks so the maximum, absolute maximum, that could move is 60 per cent,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
“Now, how much of that 60 per cent moves onto a bypass will really depend on how good a bypass we’re given and of course where those trucks are actually headed. I don’t believe it will be 60 per cent.
“It could get as high as 45 or 50 per cent but it’s not a good idea to say that building a bypass will get all the trucks except the Adelaide Hills trucks to use the bypass — that’s not going to happen.
“But give us a really good bypass — properly funded, properly designed — and we’ll be able to maximise the number of trucks that move.”
Subscribe to the weekly Owner//Driver newsletter here.