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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-09-18 Daily Xml
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SOUTHERN EXPRESSWAY

Mr SIBBONS (Mitchell) (15:30): Duplicating the Southern Expressway is a massive project, both in scale and complexity. Constructing a new road with complex bridge and interchange works within a narrow corridor while safely maintaining an operational road network within a residential area presents numerous challenges. We must try to do everything possible to ensure residents, businesses and community groups are engaged with the project.

I would like to provide some examples of the community engagement work undertaken to date. This includes hosting successful community open days in May 2011 (which were attended by more than 320 people), October 2011 (where 200 people attended), and in March 2012 (where more than 350 people attended). In addition, 75,000 residents and businesses received brochures and other communications material, including bridge closure information, which was distributed in May 2012, as well as a project update brochure sent out in June.

Motorists are being kept informed of traffic impacts through radio traffic updates, on-site signage, website information, social media and letterbox drops, as well as print advertisement for major road closures. Monthly construction updates were distributed to 3,500 residents directly adjacent to the Southern Expressway, with the updates also available on the project's website. Public transport information was provided to affected bus users through the distribution of 10,000 flyers ahead of the recent bridge closures, as well as bus stop and on-board bus signage.

There have been more than 900 employment inquiries received to date, and the project is currently on track to reach participation and employment targets: 50 per cent of the workforce comes from the southern Adelaide region; 5 per cent of the workforce is Indigenous; and 15 per cent of on-site hours are being carried out by apprentices, trainees, Aboriginal people and those with barriers to employment.

Direct liaison with the community is a strong focus, through door-knocking, a mailing list, one-on-one meetings with residents, a 24-hour telephone inquiry line, two email inquiry addresses, regular staffed and static displays, and liaison with stakeholders and interest groups. To date, more than 1,000 inquiries have been received and responded to when required.

Specific groups have been set up to manage aspects of the project and develop strong relationships with stakeholders. This includes the Traffic Management Group (which I recently attended), the Public Transport Users Group, and the Workforce Participation Taskforce. More than 400 property owners will be engaged during the design process in relation to noise mitigation measures. Regular media releases, print and radio advertisements, letterbox drops, fact sheets and a project website are also used to keep the community informed of the project's progress. The dedicated six-person community engagement team is dedicated to:

keeping the community informed of the design and construction works;

addressing community issues quickly;

managing impacts to residents and businesses, including traffic arrangements;

traffic management to the expressway and surrounding roads; and

completing the project as safely and efficiently as possible.

In my view, community engagement is as important to the success of the project as the engineers who design it and the construction workers who will build it. Strong community engagement will ensure the success of the project as it informs the project team's decision-making. Local knowledge received as part of the community engagement process is critical and will ensure we get the best outcome for the people of the south and the state as a whole.

Community engagement is about bringing people with us, embracing the many opportunities that this project presents and working together across all levels of government, industry and the community to maximise the benefits this project can bring. It was not done right the first time, but I am excited and confident that this massive investment in our state's infrastructure will be seen for generations as a road of opportunity for the people in the south.

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