The Barrier Highway in SA will receive three new rest areas as part of a $62.5 million package of upgrades aimed at improving road safety and freight productivity.
Along a 305-kilometre section of the road, works will include junction upgrades, culvert replacements, and new and upgraded rest areas.
There will be a new rest area located 17 kilometres west of Cockburn, and two situated near Yunta (one 25 kilometres east of the township and another 11 kilometres west).
An existing rest area 32 kilometres west of Cockburn will be upgraded. Three culverts will also be replaced.
A tender was recently released to market for a package of improvements along the highway, with works expected to commence in 2023.
The Barrier Highway’s junctions with Main Street and Whyte Road, in Yunta and Whyte Yarcowie respectively, will be upgraded to enable future provision for use by Performance Based Standards Level 3B heavy vehicles (up to 42-metre-long road trains).
These works are all expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
The package forms part of the South Australian and Australian governments’ $62.5 million commitment (on an 80:20 basis) to upgrade the Barrier Highway between Cockburn and Burra as part of the Roads of Strategic Importance (ROSI) initiative.
As part of this program, more than 110 kilometres of pavement widening, rehabilitation, shoulder widening, and spray sealing has been completed to date along the Barrier Highway.