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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-02-09 Daily Xml
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Public Works Committee: Princes Highway (Drain L) Culvert Replacement

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:03): I move:

That the 14th report of the committee, entitled Princes Highway (Drain L) Culvert Replacement Project, be noted.

The commonwealth and South Australian governments have jointly committed $190 million to upgrade the vital infrastructure along the Princes Highway corridor in South Australia. This equates to $38 million for the South Australian government. The Princes Highway comes under the care, control and management of the Commissioner of Highways. Running for approximately 700 kilometres, the South Australian section of the Princes Highway extends from the South Australian-Victorian border east of Mount Gambier to Port Augusta in the state's north.

As part of the Princes Highway corridor upgrade, the department undertook a review of bridges and culverts and identified those that had a width unable to accommodate Performance Based Standards Level 3A vehicles or that otherwise need to be replaced. The Princes Highway Drain L culvert was identified as a priority for replacement due to its narrow width and current condition.

The culvert is located between Kingston and Millicent on the border of the District Council of Robe and the Naracoorte Lucindale Council. It is a large, artificially constructed drain managed by the South Eastern Water Conservation and Drainage Board. The drain has a catchment area of approximately 780 square kilometres, with a primary function to remove surface water and drain saline groundwater. In doing so, the drain increases agricultural productivity in the region.

The scope of proposed works includes the removal of the existing culvert, installation of a new triple-cell culvert, and new pavement construction and servicing works. By replacing the culvert, these works aim to provide better road safety and driving conditions, enhance access for higher productivity vehicles, and improve route reliability and network resilience.

There is an annual average daily traffic of approximately 600 vehicles on the Princes Highway in the vicinity of the culvert. It is estimated that 26 per cent, or approximately 156, of these vehicles are heavy vehicles. The Princes Highway between Kingston and Millicent is currently gazetted for PBS Level 2B vehicles, which are greater than 26 metres in length but equal to or less than 30 metres. The replacement of the culvert will contribute to this section of the highway meeting the criteria for PBS Level 3A vehicles.

A temporary diversion track to bypass the project site will be in place to allow the construction of the new culvert. Large pipes will be temporarily placed within Drain L and the diversion track, with pumps installed to ensure that any required water flow is not impacted. Bridge barriers will be extended along the approaches to the culvert to meet current requirements. These barriers will impact access to a rural property located on the southern side of the culvert. An agreement has been reached with the property owner to relocate this access further south.

Access to rural properties adjacent to the project site will be maintained throughout the works wherever possible, with advance notice provided if there is a need to temporarily restrict driveway access. The department will liaise with the relevant property owners to discuss their needs to ensure access requirements are accommodated. No land acquisition is required for the project.

The current estimated capital cost for the project is $6.1 million. Construction is scheduled to commence early 2023, with the structure operational from mid 2023. It is expected that ongoing costs for the maintenance of the proposed culvert will be sourced from the department's ongoing operating budget. The project will be conducted in accordance with the department's Environment and Heritage Impact Assessment processes and associated guidelines. Constructed works will be managed in accordance with the department's Contract Management General Conditions of Contract.

All procurement is being undertaken in accordance with the state government's procurement management framework and will comply with South Australian government guidelines. The construction contractor will undertake a detailed stakeholder analysis as part of an engagement plan, with communication occurring throughout the works to ensure the community and other stakeholders remain informed.

Stakeholders will include, but are not limited to, the Naracoorte Lucindale Council and the District Council of Robe, as well as local residents, property owners and elected officials. Discussions with the affected property owners have already commenced, and will continue throughout the delivery of the project. The department asserts that all necessary consultation has occurred, including with the Department of Treasury and Finance and the Department for Environment and Water.

The committee has examined written and oral evidence in relation to the Princes Highway culvert replacement. Witnesses who appeared before the committee were: Andrew Excell, Executive Director, Transport Planning and Program Development, Department for Infrastructure and Transport; Brian Roche, Acting Executive Director, Transport Project Delivery, Department for Infrastructure and Transport; and Jerome Coly, Project Manager, Department for Infrastructure and Transport. I thank the witnesses for their time in presenting the project to the committee.

Based upon the evidence considered, and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public works.

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (11:08): It gives me great pleasure to be able to respond, and to support and speak to this project. Although it is a major project on a major road, in the sense of a bridge/culvert type rebuild, and it serves its purpose, there are a few things that this bridge relates to in the sense of the Limestone Coast, its proximity and what it stands for.

First of all, with a little bit of a conflict here, looking at the pictures of the bridge and the build I can nearly see my sheep in the background and the paddocks we own surrounding this bridge. It is only about one kilometre south of our homestead. Any time we want to head further south towards Millicent/Mount Gambier, it is the bridge that we go over, though it is a bridge we actually avoid, too, for stock movements. I remember that, as a little boy, we tried to move stock over this bridge. It is built in a way like a funnel—great for cows and traffic, but it is not great for livestock because they spook at it and will not go across. Once my father and I worked that out, we never used it again.

I thank the Public Works Committee: the Chairman (member for Florey) and all his committee for supporting this build. It is a build that I hope continues well and truly past this bridge. It is a bridge that works on a drainage board system and network of drains that were put in at the end of the 1800s, going into the early 1900s, with major upgrades through 1920, and another major upgrade through the 1950s. I think it is reported that this bridge was built in the 1950s, or upgraded.

What is really important is that the bridge belongs to myriad bridges in the Limestone Coast, and this is one of the better bridges. Yes, it would want to be, being on the Princes Highway and for traffic that has to use it, but I know that there are hundreds of bridges with road networks and drains through the Limestone Coast in dire need of major upgrades. The South-East catchment drainage board still has a budget of around that $2.6 million to manage all the drains from around Salt Creek all the way back down south to Mount Gambier. That includes maintenance and upgrades of bridges and crossings on the drainage network.

A lot of these bridges were built in the 1920s and 1950s, and I can show you pictures of culverts and bridges that do not have any more bollards because they have been wiped out by large self-propelled boom sprays, harvesters, four-wheel-drive tractors, air seeders, and the like, because 100 years ago machinery was a lot smaller than it is today. The infrastructure around these bridges has not kept pace with the development and technology that is now in agriculture that the Limestone Coast is renowned for.

We know that the drainage system network of this bridge that we are talking about on the Princes Highway is so valuable in taking surplus water away from the landscape, particularly on the western side of the Limestone Coast rather than the eastern side—or closest to Victoria—but it is still a very integral part of making sure agriculture can prosper and thrive down there.

The Limestone Coast and associated drainage network represents $36 billion annually in agricultural production. Certainly, it is not all derived only because there is a drainage system in place. There are obviously areas in the Limestone Coast that are hills and rising country that do not need a drainage system, but most of the Limestone Coast is considered fairly flat and low-lying. Without the drainage system, and before man went down there and put these drains in, it was a massive wetland. That has been completely changed.

I note that the drains were not initially put in place for agricultural pursuits: they were put in place so that people could get from Adelaide to Melbourne, and they could use the Limestone Coast as a means of transport through there. That is why initially the drainage system was put in place, to get water out of the landscape. Then came the agricultural pursuits, and the drainage system was upgraded and has been continually upgraded right up until the early 2000s when the Upper South-East salinity drainage scheme was implemented, taking out further water and resources either into wetlands or out through Salt Creek into the Coorong.

In summing up, it is very pleasing to see that this sort of infrastructure is important. There is a lot more to do. The word was that, when the Marshall government came to power, around $45 million was needed to upgrade bridges in the Limestone Coast area that were falling down in a state of disrepair. That money still has not been found. I am hoping that this new Labor government will recognise that and work with our federal counterparts to try to address the bridges, access and roads.

As I have said before, what is the difference between a bridge at Burra, where it crosses the Burra Creek, and a bridge that crosses the Wilmot Drain, the Earthquake Springs Drain or drain A, B, C, D, E or whatever it is that is in the Lower South-East? I think that we all still need road networks. We know that tourists and the general public use the road network to go to see all the sights in the Limestone Coast.

I think that we do need a balance and we do need investment to make sure not only that the drainage scheme stays true to its cause by draining the landscape where it is required but also that the infrastructure surrounding the drainage scheme is funded to make sure that the drainage board can repair what it needs to, as well as bridges staying in state of repair for transport so that the ever-changing needs of transport are being met.

I commend the bill to you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the committee for its positive responses and I thank the Chair, the member for Florey, for the support for this infrastructure and the new bridge.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (11:15): I rise to support the 14th report of the Public Works Committee of the Fifty-Fifth Parliament on the Drain L culvert replacement project. This was part of the former federal Liberal government and the state Liberal government's 80:20 joint funding of $190 million to upgrade infrastructure at locations along the Princes Highway corridor in South Australia.

The Princes Highway corridor in South Australia is approximately 700 kilometres long and runs from the South Australian-Victorian border east of Mount Gambier all the way through to Port Augusta in the state's north. The corridor funding is for the rural segments and includes the Princes Highway (South-East), which is what we are talking about here today; the South Eastern Freeway (Murray Bridge to Adelaide); the Port Wakefield Highway (Virginia to Port Wakefield); and the Augusta Highway (Port Wakefield to Port Augusta). The funding has been made available due to the Australian government's Princes Highway Corridor Strategy.

As part of the Princes Highway corridor upgrade, the department undertook a review of the bridges and culverts to identify those that have a width unable to accommodate a Performance Based Standards vehicle—that is, level 3A vehicles up to 36.5 metres long, double road trains—or those which are at the end of their life and need replacement. Obviously, with freight these days, there is a move for bigger truck combinations, and this is part of the process to make freight more efficient.

The Drain L culvert on the Princes Highway was identified as a priority for replacement, due to both its narrow width and its current condition. As has already been indicated, the culvert is located between Kingston and Millicent, on the border of the District Council of Robe and the Naracoorte Lucindale Council.

The speed limit on the Princes Highway at the location of the culvert is 110 km/h. It is good to see there have been no reported crashes at the location of the culvert on the Princes Highway for the five-year period from 2017 to 2021 inclusive.

There are approximately 600 vehicles a day that use the Princes Highway in the vicinity of the culvert. It is estimated that approximately 156 of these vehicles are heavy vehicles. The key aims and expected outcomes of this project are to deliver the following:

improved road safety and driving conditions;

improved access, as I have already mentioned, for higher productivity vehicles;

improved route reliability and increased network resilience;

to support regional development and growth; and

realisation of investment benefits.

As we move to these roads that need to cater for these bigger truck combinations, we need to make sure that the roadworks are regularly updated, regularly looked at, regularly maintained and that serious work is done so that we can make sure these efficiency upgrades progress well into the future. I support the works on this culvert at Drain L.

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:19): I would like to thank those members who have contributed to the discussion on this project: the member for MacKillop and the member for Hammond. I am sure I speak for all members of this house when I say that we all benefit from their wisdom on matters agricultural. I note their support for the project, and I commend the report to the house.

Motion carried.

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