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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-03-06 Daily Xml
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Public Works Committee: Horrocks Highway—Wild Dog Culvert Replacement Project

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (11:20): I move:

That the 116th report of the committee, entitled Horrocks Highway—Wild Dog Creek Culvert Replacement Project, be noted.

Constructed in 1937, the Wild Dog Creek Culvert is located approximately 1.1 kilometres south of Murray Town in South Australia's Mid-North within the District Council of Mount Remarkable. The existing culvert has been in use since the late 1930s and the Department for Infrastructure and Transport has identified the need for the culvert replacement due to ageing, safety concerns and end-of-life deficiencies.

These concerns include that the current culvert has no sealed shoulder, the road lane width is narrow—between 3 to 3.5 metres in width—there is no wide centre line, and the safety barriers are aged. The replacement also provides opportunities to improve route reliability for high-productivity vehicles, which will support economic growth in the region while also increasing road safety.

These works form part of the department's commitment to develop and upgrade South Australia's key arterial road network, and will be funded jointly by the Australian and South Australian governments as part of the wider Australian government's road renewal program, which now falls under the Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program.

Currently, the width of the existing culvert restricts PBS scheme level 2B vehicles and above from travelling between the townships of Wilmington and Gladstone. Restricted vehicles through this area can have a detour of more than 100 kilometres, depending on their travel routes. The proposed new structure will widen the road, providing access for vehicles up to PBS scheme level 3A, the equivalent of a 36.5 metre road train. This increased access will offer higher efficiency and travel time savings on the Horrocks Highway.

In addition to widening the road, the work will install new roadside safety barriers, improving safety for all road users. Engineered to be similar to the existing structure, the new culvert will have a minimum carriageway width of 9 metres, allowing for a 3.5 metre wide lane and a one-metre wide sealed shoulder in each direction. Works will include:

removal of the existing structure;

installation of a new triple-cell culvert;

construction of new pavement and servicing works;

installation of new safety barriers; and

new line marking for the extent of the works.

In preparation for the project, Telstra communication services were relocated in December of 2023 and no further service relocations are expected. The project will require the clearance of a combination of native vegetation and weeds, and the department states that relevant approvals will be sought in accordance with the department's Vegetation Impact Assessment Guidelines and relevant legislative processes.

The project is being funded by a $5.2 million joint commitment from the Australian and South Australian governments. Ongoing maintenance costs will be sourced through the department's annual operating budget.

The Horrocks Highway comes under the care, control and management of the Commissioner of Highways, and no land acquisition is required for the works. The project is expected to support approximately 20 full-time equivalent jobs over the construction period, with works anticipated to commence this quarter and be completed early 2026.

The procurement strategy has been designed reflecting the well-defined nature of the project and its fulfilment of master specification aspects. Procurement will assess tenders with a requirement for a minimum Preferred Supplier Arrangement of Civil and Bridges Category 2, as well as appropriate South Australian building licences and federal safety accreditation.

Construction works will be managed in accordance with the department's contract management general conditions of contract. All procurement will be undertaken in accordance with state government management frameworks and procurement guidelines, with project management implemented in accordance with departmental program and project management guidelines. External specialist resources will be engaged if required.

The department undertakes risk analysis and mitigation on an ongoing basis as part of the project management process. Key risks identified include community concerns, for which the project has developed a stakeholder engagement plan; access to neighbouring properties, where the department and contractor will liaise with relevant property owners adjacent to the project site throughout the construction phase; impact on the road network during construction, for which the department will work with local council to implement measures to reduce impacts and minimise interruptions and delays where possible; and delays in obtaining statutory approvals, for which the department will undertake early engagement to ensure relevant approvals are obtained in a timely manner.

A report has been prepared outlining sustainability objectives, principles and opportunities for the project and includes consideration of greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, vegetation and fauna, water, noise, air quality and contamination. The selected contractor will be required to develop and implement a contractor's environmental management plan that addresses key environmental and heritage aspects, including consideration of mitigation measures.

The works are located within the Nukunu Part A native title determination area, and the project site falls within an Indigenous Land Use Agreement. The department states that native title does not exist over the project area. The Register of Aboriginal Sites and Objects indicates no registered or reported sites, objects or ancestral remains. A department assessment indicates a low risk of encountering unrecorded Aboriginal heritage, and discovery protocols will be utilised should a discovery be made. The project will have no impacts on commonwealth, state or local heritage-listed places.

A community and stakeholder management plan has been prepared, providing an overview of communication strategies to ensure relevant stakeholders are consulted. This includes the District Council of Mount Remarkable; the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board; utilities service providers; emergency services; traditional owners; and local residents, property owners and stakeholders. The department has also consulted with relevant government departments, agencies and representatives. The department ensures that issues or potential issues will be identified early and managed appropriately with the project website, a community contact number and an email address maintained throughout the works.

The committee examined written and oral evidence in relation to the Horrocks Highway Wild Dog Creek culvert replacement project. Witnesses who appeared before the committee were Andrew Excell, Executive Director, Transport Strategy and Planning, Department for Infrastructure and Transport; Michael Rander, Delivery Manager, Department for Infrastructure and Transport; and Amanda Collins, Director, Engagement, Department for Infrastructure and Transport. I thank the witnesses for their time.

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 work.

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Stuart) (11:27): I also would like to speak on this Public Works Committee report on the Wild Dog Creek culvert replacement project. This project has been a long time coming and is greatly welcomed, not only by myself but by all the communities there, specifically those in the farming sector.

On the Horrocks Highway between Wilmington and Gladstone we have had issues with the structure and gradings of several bridges and culverts which had been unattended for some years, reducing the efficiency of the road trains and the loads being able to be transported and requiring the grain industry in particular to not be able to utilise the larger vehicles to transport their goods, with specifically, as I say, the grain producers having to take their products to Gladstone, having to use alternative routes.

As the member has indicated, this required other trucks, not using the best opportunities with road trains etc., or if people had to use a road train they had to do another 100 kilometres to get their goods to the Gladstone terminal. However, since becoming the member for Stuart I have been lobbying the department to have these restrictions removed—and this is nearing completion—to allow heavier transports to be able to traverse the highway for those involved to have the best economical operations for their goods.

In terms of the bridges and culverts in the area from Wilmington right through to Gladstone, to my information now this will be the last one that needs to be done, and it will allow the farming community there to use road trains and the heavier vehicles.

The current capacity of this culvert is 2A, which allows 26.5-metre vehicles, and with these improvements this culvert will become 2B, which will allow 30-metre vehicles, which will then travel along between Wilmington and Gladstone. To my information, this culvert will be upgraded further to a 3A, which will allow 36.5-metre vehicles; however, there will have to be extra works carried out in the near future. Once this has been done, 30-metre vehicles will be able to traverse the area between Wilmington and Gladstone.

As the member for Adelaide also mentioned a minute ago, this culvert is located approximately 1.1 kilometres south of Murray Town, and the new structure will widen the road enabling the access for vehicles up to PBS level 3A which, as mentioned, will allow higher efficiency and reduce travelling times for those farmers and other organisations. These upgrades are all part of the upgrading of key arterial roads to allow for greater efficiency and improved reliability.

It has been very frustrating for me and other members of the community that, as members of this house have indicated, we have lots of roads out there, but we cannot use them efficiently to transport our goods there. The higher the capacity of your loads that you can transport in the one area, the more the costs are reduced for these particular farmers. Again, this is one of the issues that I have been fighting for since becoming the member for Stuart. It is good to see the minister refer it to the Public Works Committee, and I certainly commend it to the house. Hopefully, we see a speedy, efficient replacement of that culvert to allow the community there to actually get on with the job.

Let's hope in the new year we have a far better season for our grain growers in South Australia, in particular in regional South Australia. I have spoken in this house before about how it is very traumatic, very emotional talking to a lot of people out there in the farming community. They are struggling. The season has not been good. This is not the first bad season—there have been two or three in some locations—and I can only hope the next season is far better for them.

I am not only concerned about the viability of the farmers themselves but about the health and wellbeing of their children, the younger kids and the families, and also the sustainability of their small communities that rely on the farmers to spend their money. That has been pretty evident out there in some of the areas in my electorate of Stuart and other locations across regional South Australia. If the farmers and that sector do not have a good year, they do not spend money, which therefore affects the regional communities.

Again, I thank the Public Works Committee. I thank the minister for referring it to the Public Works Committee, and I am looking for a speedy construction of this culvert.

Motion carried.

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