The Sturt Highway Taskforce has appealed for urgent and meaningful investment in the Sturt Highway following a recent crash near the NSW town of Euroley which claimed two lives and left three others injured.
The Sturt Highway is an important east-west route which is well used by tourists travelling between New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, including many caravanners and grey nomads exploring regional Australia. It is also heavily used by trucks.
Road safety data reveals that between July 2019 and June 2024, 277 crashes were recorded on the Sturt Highway, with almost one in five of them resulting in serious injury and more than 5% proving fatal.
Calls are growing for more investment in the Sturt Highway. PIC: Sturt Highway Taskforce
Sturt Highway Taskforce Chair and Murrumbidgee Council Mayor, Ruth McRae, told the Grey Nomads that caravans and motorhomes were a familiar sight on the corridor, particularly during peak travelling periods and throughout the cooler months.
Council Mayor, Ruth McRae
“Travellers using the Sturt Highway support local towns through overnight stays, fuel purchases, dining, shopping and visits to local attractions,” she said. “The highway plays an important role in connecting visitors with regional communities and experiences, and our towns greatly value the contribution that travelling visitors make.”
Councillor McRae said that while there was no specific local crash data relating solely to caravans and motorhomes, the taskforce was keen to ensure infrastructure continued to evolve alongside increasing traffic volumes and changing transport demands.
The taskforce would like to see improvement including: additional overtaking opportunities and duplication of key sections; significant investment in pavement repairs; upgraded intersections; bypasses to improve town safety and reduce travel time for through traffic; wider road shoulders and lane improvements; additional rest areas and pull-over opportunities for travellers; improved signage, line marking and lighting at key locations.
WIN VOLTX LiFePO4 BATTERY SYSTEMS
Grey Nomad members are being given the chance to win one of two fantastic VoltX LiFePO4 Battery systems, with a combined value of nearly $2,500.
With travellers increasingly spending more time off-grid, having a reliable and adequate power source is more important than ever … and these two products will certainly offer adventurers peace of mind on that front.
Click here to learn more about the competition.
