The Department for Infrastructure and Transport in South Australia has told a developer to “get a move on” and finish a roundabout on a major freight route which is causing ongoing issues for truckies.
The Roseworthy roundabout is intended to be an egress point to the new Hickinbotham development at Roseworthy Gardens, and onto the busy Horrocks Highway.
However, transport operators have said the roundabout is too small for bigger trucks to pass through easily and safely, with sharply raised edges – and it’s killing their business.
Malcolm Heinrich, owner of transport company S.C Heinrich & Co, told Big Rigs: “This roundabout is an absolute menace.
“If you go through it with a B-double, a road train or even a normal semi, you have to go down to about five or ten kilometres an hour.
“If you had a really high load and you were going too fast around it, the wrong movements could be catastrophic.”
Heinrich said the roundabout has caused him and his drivers to have to take lengthy detours, costing him time and money.
“We have quite big low loaders and the Department for Transport was telling us to go over round Two Wells and then come back.
“But Two Wells has a roundabout there with the same circumstances…So that means we would have to right out to Dublin and then back across, or invent some other route.
“That creates a financial strain for us, as well as safety concerns, because we don’t want our drivers to get fatigued from these detours.”
Heinrich said he knows of several cases where the roundabout has damaged truck tyres, suspensions and undercarriages.
“It’s affecting all road transport companies in the area,” he added.
“This should never have happened.”
The business owner is calling for the roundabout, which won’t be officially completed until October this year, to be fixed as soon as possible.
“This roundabout was basically railroaded through, with no consultation with the heavy vehicle industry,” he said.
“What they need to do is fix the outside of the roundabout and make it wider and straighter and flatter, so that we can drive a big vehicle straight through, and they can have painted lines for smaller vehicles.
“The Hickinbotham development, once it’s in its final stage, is meant to have 100,000 people in it.
“This roundabout just doesn’t cut it, even for smaller traffic.”
Steve Shearer, executive director of the South Australian Road Transport Association (SARTA), said that the developers of the Roseworthy Gardens estate, the Hickinbotham Group, have been dragging their feet.
“This roundabout is being built by an urban developer who got given a contractual right to install it by the planning authority.
“We made a lot of noise about the roundabout being truck-friendly at the time, but they still have not finished it.
“Because this issue has had some attention in the media, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport have cracked the whip and told them they have to get on with it.”
Shearer said that finishing the roundabout will make a difference to transport operators, but it won’t solve everything.
“There is currently an 8-centimetre drop at the edge, and when they finish the roundabout and put on the next layer of bitumen, this will be reduced to 30 millimetres.
“That will solve one of the issues, with trucks going up over that ridge and then back down again.
“But it still leaves the question of why we would build something like a roundabout on a major freight route, that is a designated road train route.”
He said the roundabout is fine in some directions, for some trucks and some configurations, but not all of them.
“Depending on whether you’re traveling south or north, you can almost go straight through in one direction, but in the other direction, you’ve got to get around the roundabout.
“It raises the fundamental problem that we have right around the country, of the need to safeguard and protect key freight routes.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure and Transport for South Australia told Big Rigs that they will “continue to assess” the roundabout and its impact on traffic.
“Horrocks Highway is a state-maintained road, and the design was independently verified and subsequently approved by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport,” they said.
“Heavy vehicles will be able to freely use the roundabout once construction is complete. In the meantime, a slip lane has been constructed to accommodate heavy vehicles for south bound traffic.
“The roundabout is due to be complete in October 2024.”
A spokesperson for the Hickinbotham Group said: “The Roseworthy roundabout was designed in accordance with required specifications. Its design was independently reviewed and approved by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT).
“Construction is progressing as planned via a staged approach to avoid closing the road and to maintain access for all road users.”
Roseworthy horrible now when moved up Saddleworth 2019 was nice drive thru Roseworthy now horrible now last time dew days ago now horrible roundabout when first moved up this way was 100km seove now 80k if lucky aa road works etc.. then find part of roundabout going 2 look at bypassing Roseworthy now I’m sure there is a way skipping BP road house doe petrol and foods etc
We have similar issues around Denman NSW where we had Level intersection onto the Golden highway the RMS renewed several years ago now a steep grade with a stop sign . Ogilvie hill approach and passing lane east bound leaves quite a bit to be desired. As far as I am aware there was no consultation with the transport industry in my view both these areas are more dangerous know than previous to the supposed improvments . If any one from the planing or infrastructure department is listening you need to have consultation with the transport industry nationally and in these separate local areas. All we want is the best out come and safer roads for everyone and value for all us tax payers .