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South Eastern Freeway Heavy Vehicle Safety Review

South Eastern Freeway Heavy Vehicle Safety Review

We are exploring a range of new measures to help encourage safer heavy vehicle driving on this key route.

About the project

A comprehensive safety review of heavy vehicle safety on the South Eastern Freeway down track (the city-bound lanes) was undertaken in 2022. 

The review found that the issue of runaway heavy vehicles on the South Eastern Freeway is multifaceted and there is no single solution that would prevent all incidents from happening.

The South Australian Government (through the Department for Infrastructure and Transport) is committed to exploring options to improve safety on the freeway down track between Crafers and the intersection of Portrush Road, Cross Road and Glen Osmond Road.

We are continuing to explore the most efficient way to implement the proposed safety options arising from the review. Some of these options have been implemented. Other more complex solutions such as a third, lower safety ramp and a heavy vehicle bypass will need further planning as we develop business cases to support these proposals.

See what we've done so far as part of the safety review.

Fast facts

Status

Some recommendations implemented, some in planning.

Location

South Eastern Freeway - city bound lanes.

Funding

To be determined.

What's happening

Enhanced signage to assist heavy vehicle operators with the steep descent

We have reviewed the current static signage and pavement marking. We identified opportunities for improvement to assist heavy vehicle operators with the steep freeway descent. These changes will be implemented in 2025.

This will:

  • encourage safer heavy vehicle driver behaviour
  • provide further guidance around the use of safety ramps
  • reinforce driver awareness of the steep descent.

The new signage will:

  • further emphasise the mandatory use of low gear for heavy vehicle operators
  • use more symbols and simpler wording
  • reinforce the message that there is no cost to road users from the Department for using or removing vehicles from the safety ramp.

Third safety ramp

A business case for a new third safety ramp between the existing lower safety ramp and the intersection will be developed in 2025. Further planning and investigation work will be required to help inform the business case.

Long term planning

A key action of South Australia’s Road Safety Action Plan 2023-2025 is to investigate ways to improve safety on the South Eastern Freeway down-track.

We understand the freeway is a vital route for many thousands of commuters and for freight. We know that demand for freight is increasing. Improving our road network to create an efficient and safe infrastructure for all road users is key priority for the South Australian Government.

The Adelaide Hills is projected to have significant population growth, particularly around Mount Barker. To learn about other projects see South Eastern Freeway Projects.

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Project background

The South Eastern Freeway forms part of the Adelaide to Melbourne road corridor and is an important strategic heavy vehicle freight route for South Australia. In 2021, the South Eastern Freeway, between Crafers interchange and Glen Osmond, carried an average of 48,000 vehicles per day, with approximately 5,200 of these classed as heavy vehicles.

In July 2022, nine people were injured in a serious multiple vehicle crash at the bottom of the South Eastern Freeway. Since then, there continue to be incidents involving heavy vehicles on the descent, with safety issues such as smoking overheated brakes, break-downs or use of the arrester beds. The Department for Infrastructure and Transport’s Traffic Management Centre recorded 43 incidents between July 2022 and May 2024 – including the crash on 15 May 2024.

Comprehensive review

In 2022 we undertook a comprehensive review of heavy vehicle safety on the South Eastern Freeway down-track (city bound lanes) between Crafers and the intersection of Cross Road, Portrush Road and Glen Osmond Road.

The review further explored:

  • improvements and better ways to use existing infrastructure and systems such as safety ramps, signage and safety cameras
  • how technology could be used to improve safety
  • speed and traffic management
  • improvements to compliance and heavy vehicle driver competencies, including legislation, driver and industry training, education and communication with industry and communities
  • investigating other similar examples across Australia to understand the range of measures that have been implemented to manage steep descents.

Three industry roundtable sessions were held with the road freight sector, road safety experts, South Australian Police (SAPOL), National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) and other key stakeholders to identify the key issues and inform a range of potential solutions. The community also provided their view and ideas through the project website, social media channels and via an online survey.

The review discovered that there is no single solution that will prevent all incidents from happening on all occasions. This forum ultimately shortlisted various options to address heavy vehicle safety on the down-track of the South Eastern Freeway.

The options were a mix of long, medium and short term initiatives. Some of these could be implemented immediately while others would require further investigation and/or a business case to determine their feasibility. For more information see the proposed options document (PDF 2.8MB).

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