Major milestone for new Mount Barker bridge
Friday 13 November 2026
The final five of 12, 84-tonne Super-T girders supporting a new three-laned bridge at Mount Barker above the South Eastern Freeway will be installed over the next two nights, marking a major milestone for the Mount Barker and Verdun Interchange Upgrades project.
Crews have been working through the night this week to get the massive beams for the 80 metre-long and 14-metre-wide bridge in place.
The new bridge, which is being constructed immediately west of the existing bridge, will provide three northbound traffic lanes and an on-road bike lane, delivering greater traffic flow for motorists and safety and connectivity improvements for cyclists.
The existing bridge will be converted to accommodate three southbound lanes, while the installation of traffic signals and lighting at the interchange will also improve safety.
As Mount Barker and the broader Hills area continues to expand, the increased capacity at the interchange will improve traffic flow and reduce congestion, benefiting community road users and emergency vehicles.
All 12 38-metre-long girders, manufactured by South Australian company Bianco Precast, have been delivered to site under police escort. A large truck with a specialised ‘jinker’ trailer – designed to transport long pieces of equipment – was used to transport the girders from the precast facility.
Six-metre-deep concrete piles have been poured at both the northern and southern ends of the bridge span. The piles serve as the foundations for the bridge abutment walls that will hold the Super-T girders in place. A large crane at each end of the girder is being used to lift the beams into place.
The Mount Barker Interchange upgrade is being delivered concurrently with works at Verdun Interchange. Both projects are being funded by a $150 million partnership between the Australia and South Australian Governments through respective commitments of $120 million and $30 million.
The ongoing Verdun works will deliver access to and from the Freeway in all directions. The interchange does not currently allow motorists driving from Mount Barker to Hahndorf to exit, while eastbound motorists – those wanting to travel between Hahndorf and Mount Barker – cannot easily access the Freeway.
The upgrade will deliver a new eastbound entry ramp towards Mount Barker, and a new westbound exit ramp. The exit ramp will cross under the existing westbound entry ramp before connecting with a new roundabout at the junction of Mount Barker Road and Silver Road.
The new bridge over the westbound exit ramp at Verdun will be more than 13 metres long and seven metres wide, supported by 29 concrete piles and 12 bridge planks.
The 12 pre-cast planks – fabricated by Bianco Precast and weighing more than 13 tonnes each – will be lifted into position by a 220-tonne crane in coming weeks.
More than 50,000 vehicles travel from Verdun into the city each day and more than 30,000 vehicles travel across the Mount Barker interchange between Littlehampton and Mount Barker.
In the past five years there have been 19 casualty crashes at the Mount Barker Interchange and seven at the Verdun Interchange.
The works are supporting approximately 260 full-time jobs during construction. The upgraded interchanges are expected to open to the community in late 2027.
To find out more about the projects, please visit the South Eastern Freeway Interchange Upgrades website.