James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the weekend I had the opportunity to join Premier Steven Marshall to inspect the finished Magill and Portrush roads intersection project. It was a $98 million partnership between the South Australian and Australian governments. I was very proud to be there at the end because of course I was there at the very start. I remember back in 2019 when we made the commitment to invest together in that project—$98 million; 50-50—to upgrade and overhaul that intersection.

Portrush Road is Highway 1, so it's a Commonwealth freight route, and Magill Road essentially bisects my electorate, so it's right in the heart and of course has an enormous amount of traffic. Some 65,000 cars a day go through that intersection. It needed an overhaul. We have delivered on that. We have extra turning lanes off Portrush Road onto Magill Road in both directions, as well as enhanced left-turn lanes in all directions, particularly from Magill Road to Portrush Road if you're travelling east.

It took almost three years from conception to finished product. The Premier and I visited there on Sunday. We saw the new asphalt being laid. That will cause some local disruption. I do apologise to residents for the inconvenience of the last couple of years, particularly the last few weeks of night works. It is always a significant hindrance to people when a major highway like Portrush Road has to have restricted lane use. But I'm very confident that people are happy that the imposition was worthwhile and that the outcome we're getting is going to deliver for local families and businesses. What it means, ultimately, is that people will be able to get home quicker and safer. Obviously, having large trucks move through that intersection and carrying a lot of commuter traffic locally, both roads are major arterial roads. Magill Road carries people from our suburbs into and out of the city, and Portrush Road takes people from the tollgate and takes freight moving through the city, which goes from the tollgate, right along Portrush Road and up into the northern industrial parts of northern Adelaide and South Australia.

It's a great outcome. It reminds us of how important it is to keep investing in congestion busting in our suburbs. This is one of three projects happening in my electorate, along with the Fullarton Road and Cross Road project and the Glen Osmond Road and Fullarton Road project. All three are excellent examples of us investing in congestion busting for our suburbs. And there's also the productivity outcome of making sure that we are moving goods to market as quickly as possible as well as getting families to and from where they need to go as quickly as possible. I'm proud to see it delivered. I'm proud that, after we committed to it before the last election, coming into the next election we can say that it is done. It's another great example of two governments working together to deliver for the eastern suburbs of Adelaide.