Fresh concerns have been raised about the vulnerability of the South Eastern Freeway after last week’s truck crash left commuters stranded in gridlock for hours, prompting renewed debate over warning systems and long-promised infrastructure upgrades.
A B-double truck jackknifed near Crafers on Thursday afternoon, closing multiple lanes and causing major delays. Some commuters reported being trapped in traffic for up to five hours, with many criticising the lack of advance warning signs before key entry points onto the freeway.
Transport Minister Joe Szakacs has apologised to commuters, saying the incident was ‘regrettable’ and that his government is reviewing whether additional advance signage is needed.
“Every incident, including this one, we need to take the best we can from to learn, and I think signage and flow information is something we will take a very close look at,” Joe Szakacs told ARN’s Adam and Jennie this morning.
Liberal MP for Heysen Josh Teague took to social media on Friday calling for contraflow works to be completed in a matter of urgency, to allow traffic to be diverted onto the opposite carriageway during major crashes or closures.
“This was a classic example where the freeway was effectively closed for the better part of 12 hours. Contraflow would have improved safety and flow significantly; it needs to be delivered as an urgent priority,” Josh Teague said.
Minister Szakacs said the State and Federal funded $200 million Crafers to Glen Osmond Managed Motorway project will get underway later this year.
“We may even apply some novel and modern solutions like AI to support traffic flow and support management but that’s really important that occurs first. When you run contraflow and when you run traffic in alternative ways it can, in itself, create additional safety risk that we really need to be careful about,” Minister Szakacs said.
The South Eastern Freeway carries nearly 55,000 vehicles each day and remains the main arterial route linking Adelaide with the Adelaide Hills, Murraylands and South East of SA.
Hear the full ARN interview with Minister Joe Szakacs via SoundCloud.
