Flood recovery works on the Stuart Highway at Lake Windabout have been completed, restoring and strengthening a critical freight and transport link between South Australia and the Northern Territory.
The remediation follows severe rainfall and flooding in early 2022, which caused extensive damage to sections of the highway and disrupted travel, freight movements and the delivery of essential supplies and services.
The completed works cover a 1.5 kilometre section of the highway approximately 150 kilometres north of Port Augusta. They included raising the road level and installing new drainage structures designed to help the road remain open during future flood events. Additional erosion protection has been put in place to strengthen the pavement and shoulders, helping to prevent washouts and improve safety and reliability for road users in South Australia’s far north.
These upgrades are expected to allow the highway to return to service more quickly following flooding, reducing the economic impact of major weather events and improving connectivity for regional and remote communities.
The Stuart Highway is one of Australia’s most important north–south transport routes, running for almost 1000 kilometres through South Australia and linking Port Augusta with Darwin. Near Lake Windabout, the highway carries an average of around 900 vehicles each day, including approximately 300 heavy vehicles. During cooler months, traffic volumes can rise to about 1300 vehicles per day, with heavy vehicles accounting for around one third of that total.
The project forms part of the Australian and South Australian governments’ $75 million Flood Recovery Targeted Investment to Improve National Supply Chain Resilience program, jointly funded on an 80:20 basis and delivered over four years.
During construction, the route remained operational for traffic, including several wide loads measuring more than five metres across. Careful planning and traffic management also ensured competitors in the World Solar Challenge were able to travel through the site in late August while en route from Darwin to Adelaide.
The works supported 31 full-time jobs during construction and follow the completion of similar flood repair works at Glendambo on another 1.5 kilometre section of the Stuart Highway.
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