Another plan to fix Britannia corner
After years of going around in circles, the South Australian Government has come up with yet another plan to fix the Britannia intersection.
Instead of removing the roundabout altogether, a second will be added in a bid to ease congestion and improve safety.
The current roundabout will be trimmed around the edge and another smaller one will be installed 40 metres away, up Dequettiville Tce.
Paul Gelston from the Transport Department it gives drivers more space and time.
“It removes some of the very tricky manoeuvres that are currently required at this roundabout,” he said.
And the project is set to cost only $3.2 million.
The Opposition said the Government had previously said a solution would be much more expensive.
“In 2006 the Government said, Minister Colon said, that this is a project that would cost $100 million to do it properly,” Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said.
In the past five years, the intersection has been the scene of 308 accidents, 48 of which caused injury.
The Royal Automobile Association of South Australia (RAA) has welcomed the changes.
“The announcement of the proposal today, we believe, will go a long way towards improving the operation of that particular area,” said Charles Mountain from the RAA.
Construction is set to begin later this year and take about two months.
The Transport Department said there will be traffic disruptions during that time, but insists it won’t be as bad as Clipsal week.
The project will also see five trees removed, along with 60 square metres of parkland, and while the Premier says 10 times that amount will be handed back, the Parklands Preservation Society is not impressed.
“This small areas of parklands that they’re taking is like tooth decay, you lose a little bit and before you know it, the whole tooth is gone,” said Damien Mugavin from the association.
The project is set to be finished by early next year.
