The design of the extension of the northbound overtaking lane on the Horrocks Highway just north of Tarlee has been altered to save a row of mature gum trees, following feedback from the local community.

The overtaking lane on the Horrocks Highway north of Tarlee is being extended to provide and encourage safe overtaking opportunities for all road users as part of the Horrocks Highway Corridor Upgrade.

Following community consultation, the alignment of the overtaking lane extension was shifted further east to accommodate the row of mature lemon-scented gum trees.
The Department for Infrastructure and Transport follows legislative requirements throughout every project to ensure improved safety outcomes and environment and heritage impacts are minimised.

Work to extend the overtaking lane is expected to commence in late 2023, weather permitting.

The Horrocks Highway Corridor Upgrade is jointly funded by the Australian and South Australian governments on an 80:20 basis.

The package of works is delivering infrastructure upgrades along the 245-kilometre section between Wilmington and Gawler to improve safety, connectivity, and freight efficiency, while also supporting jobs.

Works include shoulder sealing, pavement rehabilitation, lane widening, sealing of local road approaches, new overtaking lanes and overtaking lane extensions, bridge upgrades, safety barrier, audio tactile line marking on edge-lines and centrelines, and improvements to the Gladstone rail corridor and level crossing.

Quotes

Attributable to Geoff Brock

The extension of the overtaking lane north of Tarlee will deliver safer overtaking opportunities and is part of a larger program of infrastructure upgrades to improve safety, connectivity, and freight efficiency along the Horrocks Highway.

The very passionate Tarlee community provided feedback to us about the potential impacts this extension would have on the environment, specifically a row of mature lemon-scented gum trees that were planted back in 1986.

We take the environmental impacts of road projects very seriously and we undertook a thorough investigation into the concerns raised by former MP Michael Pratt, who brought this to our attention alongside the community.

Following the investigation, we have been able to alter the design of the extension to achieve the same project benefits while preserving the row trees, which is a fantastic outcome for road users, the environment, and the Tarlee community.