Frequently Asked Questions

The Cross Road and Fullarton Road intersection is located approximately five kilometres south-east of Adelaide’s Central Business District (CBD), and is adjacent to the University of Adelaide Waite Campus and Urrbrae High School, within the suburbs of Urrbrae and Kingswood. Cross Road and Fullarton Road are both important commuter routes, serving traffic to and from the Mitcham Hills area and the South Eastern Freeway.

Cross Road forms part of Adelaide’s Outer Ring Route (ORR) which is a major traffic and freight route. Fullarton Road forms part of the Inner Ring Route, which is a major traffic route. Both Cross Road and Fullarton Road are also high frequency public transport corridors. The ORR is also a key freight route connecting to export and import gateways and intermodal terminals.

An average of approximately 52,600 vehicles per day pass through this intersection (based on a count conducted in August 2019). The intersection is currently experiencing travel time delays in peak periods, resulting in inefficient, unreliable journeys and poses safety risks for all road users.

During the last five year period (2015 to 2019) there have been 35 reported crashes for Cross Road/Fullarton Road Intersection, Urrbrae. Of these, there were two serious injury crashes resulting in three serious injuries; 14 minor injury crashes resulting in 14 minor injuries; and 19 property damage crashes.

Once complete, the upgrade will improve travel times and safety for all road users, improve network reliability and support economic activity.

The South Australian Government has come to an agreement with the University of Adelaide to find a solution for the future of the Urrbrae Gatehouse, with the structure to be decommissioned, rebuilt and repurposed.

After taking on board feedback from the broader community and the University of Adelaide, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport has developed an alternative option that will see the Gatehouse relocated to a new site on Claremont Avenue.

The University, which has proposed the new location for the Gatehouse, will fund an interior restoration so that the building can serve a useful purpose for future generations.

The purpose of the initial project planning study and design development process is to ensure that proposed intersection upgrades provide improved efficiency and reliability for freight and commuters, as well as improving road safety at the intersection.

Transport planning is important in enabling future economic activities in accordance with future predictions in land use and travel demand.

The project has now entered the detailed design and delivery phase. The Department will continue to engage with residents, landowners, business owners, Council and other stakeholders as the detailed design is developed.

Community engagement is an important part of the process. The Department has undertaken consultation to gather early feedback from the community on the proposed upgrade of the Cross Road and Fullarton Road intersection as part of the engagement process.

Consultation was undertaken early in the planning and design process to understand community and local business concerns with their feedback gathered to take into consideration.

Key stakeholder meetings, a community update, a public survey and business survey were undertaken, in addition to feedback that was received via the 1300 phone line, emails and web-form submissions.

The online survey for the community and local businesses was undertaken between December 2019 and January 2020. We received 535 public survey responses and 16 business survey responses.

A more localised resident survey was also undertaken in May 2020. This survey received 19 responses from a mail box drop to 71 local residents.

All feedback received regarding the current proposed concept design will be considered and reviewed by the project team, where possible.

This feedback is important and will help inform the development of the design. The Department will continue to liaise with the community as the design is developed. All feedback and concerns will be considered as part of the detailed design process to identify a solution that delivers on the project’s objectives, whilst balancing the needs of the various stakeholders, as much as practically possible.

As part of the concept design and planning process a range of problems at the intersection have been identified that need to be addressed including:

• The intersection capacity is insufficient to meet traffic volumes causing inefficient and unreliable journeys in peak periods.
• Fullarton Road is one of the top five congested roads in Adelaide. i Around 35% of community survey respondents raised congestion at peak times as their key concern. Congestion impacting access to local business and services was also identified as an important concern.
• Intersection layout and traffic volumes are resulting in unacceptable safety risks to all users.
• Approximately 52,600 vehicles travel through the Cross and Fullarton Roads intersection each day and it currently experiences travel time delays in peak periods.
• During the five year period between 2015 and 2019, at the intersection of Cross Road and Fullarton Road, there were 35 reported crashes consisting of two serious injury crashes, 14 minor injury crashes, and 19 property damage crashes.
• A significant concern by 24% of community survey respondents was that ‘safety concerns’ were the ‘most important’ traffic issues at the Cross Road and Fullarton Road intersection.
• Other safety issues raised by the community included the need for pedestrian crossings, cycle ways and the need to remove the freight and heavy vehicle interface from the intersection. Some feedback included stakeholder experiences of near accidents at the intersection.
• Infrastructure and nearby business accessibility was raised as a concern by community survey respondents.

Key considerations in development of the proposed design included access to local businesses, social impacts, reducing the need for land acquisition, environment and heritage, existing infrastructure such as water, power and gas utilities, and the funding allocation.

The design also had to align with relevant standards and design guidelines.

Major construction works have commenced, with project completion expected in late-September 2023, weather permitting.

Early project planning has taken into account the significant impacts that property acquisition can have on the community. Acquisition of homes and businesses has been minimised in the proposed concept design wherever possible.

The value of significant vegetation has been thoroughly considered. The concept design includes  impact to existing significant vegetation and trees located on the corner of Fullarton Road and Cross Road.

As the design progresses further details will be made available regarding any vegetation impacts and revegetation of the project area following construction. Consideration is always given to limit the removal of vegetation along project corridors as much as possible, however for a large upgrade such as this, some vegetation will be impacted.

Feedback received from the community during early consultation highlighted the importance of reducing potential impacts to trees.  Much of the feedback received from stakeholders and the community during early consultation on the project highlighted the value and importance of the significant trees situated within the Waite Arboretum site on the roadside.

There will be some changes to the existing landscaping (small trees and shrubs) located on the perimeter of properties  as part of the design. The Department will work closely with property owners and local council to further assess the potential impact of the upgrade and explore appropriate mitigation measures.

As part of the project, new landscaping is being established around the intersection, incorporating approximately 80 trees and 900 shrubs. Landscaping works have already commenced with expected completion in late-August 2023 (weather permitting).

More information on landscaping can be found on the Landscaping Fact Sheet

The Department’s Road Traffic Noise Guidelines provides guidance to departmental staff and consultants in addressing road traffic noise as a key part of infrastructure project development. The Guidelines set out the process to be followed and criteria to be applied when assessing the road traffic noise impacts of infrastructure projects involving new roads and/or major upgrading of existing roads.

The Department will engage acoustic consultants during the detailed design phase to undertake a noise assessment for the intersection upgrade project.  Results of the assessment will be used to determine what, if any, and where noise mitigation treatments are appropriate.

Public transport connectivity and functionality is a strategic priority for the South Australian Government. The proposed concept design has considered both how public transport functions including how to make improvements to bus stops through indented bus bays and improvements to existing bus bays.

In order to increase the efficiency of the intersection and surrounding areas bus stops will be indented as part of the preferred concept design.

The concept design includes improvements to pedestrian safety by removing the pedestrian island on the south-west corner of the intersection, stopping uncontrolled left turn traffic movements, and introducing a seagull median treatment for the Urrbrae Agricultural High School.

Cycle lanes were a key consideration during the development of the concept design and as such on-road bicycle lanes are included in the concept design. We will continue to work with relevant stakeholders during the detailed design phase of the project to ensure bicycle lanes are optimised.

The project is currently in the concept design phase. Once stakeholder and community feedback is received on the concept design, feedback will be considered as part of the development of the detailed design phase for the project.

Project design work will continue in the coming months with early construction works anticipated to commence by mid-2021. Early construction works may consist of activities such as service relocations. Major construction works are scheduled to commence in late 2021, with project completion expected in late-September 2023, weather permitting.

Where relevant, key modifications will be identified on the project’s website. Community and stakeholder engagement activities will continue throughout the detailed design and construction phases of the project.