The Prime Minister and the South Australian Premier today announced $18 million for a new intersection to be built at Victor Harbor Road and Main Road in McLaren Vale.
This is the next priority project on the Victor Harbor Road to improve safety and reduce congestion. This funding will see the T-junction become an overpass allowing traffic from McLaren Vale to merge safely with high speed traffic on the Victor Harbor Road.
Up until now, this intersection has seen 35 serious crashes in just the last seven years, of which one resulted in a fatality.
The work will improve safety and reduce travel times for the 18 000 cars that use the Victor Harbor Road every day.
Features of the project include:
- The elevation of Main Road over Victor Harbor Road; and
- Dedicated on and off ramps to allow traffic from McLaren Vale to merge safely with high speed traffic on the Victor Harbor Road
The Australian and South Australian Governments are working together to improve the state's road infrastructure and create jobs for local communities, with this project expected to support up to 120 local jobs.
The new intersection at McLaren Vale is a jointly funded project, with the Australian Government contributing $14.4 million and the South Australian Government $3.6 million.
Construction is expected to commence in 2011 and take 18 months to complete.
The project is part of the Australian Government's $36 billion investment in transport infrastructure and part of the Strategic Infrastructure Plan for South Australia.