The number of accidents on the Sturt Highway continues to rise. Photo: Narrandera Shire Council.
The Sturt Highway has become the backbone of the Riverina’s renewable energy boom, carrying everything from wind turbine blades to solar infrastructure across southern NSW.
But local leaders say while Canberra is spending billions on renewable energy projects, it is failing to invest in the road network needed to get those projects built safely.
The Sturt Highway Taskforce has expressed frustration that the 2026-27 Federal Budget contains no significant funding for upgrades to the key freight corridor, despite growing concerns about safety and increasing heavy vehicle traffic.
Their concerns come against the backdrop of a troubling crash record.
Between July 2019 and June 2024, there were 277 crashes on the Sturt Highway, with almost one in five resulting in serious injury and more than five per cent proving fatal.
The highway has continued to make headlines in recent years. In August last year, a man died near Tarcutta after an SUV collided with two trucks. In December, another motorist was killed near Wagga Wagga when his vehicle crashed into a parked truck. Earlier this year, a truck driver died in a collision near Euston, triggering a major hazardous chemical spill that closed the highway for more than a day.
The taskforce has previously met with the Federal Government to advocate for urgent investment in road upgrades, safety improvements and driver education, with estimates showing that between $600 million and $800 million is needed to bring the highway up to a safe, fit-for-purpose standard.
Stretching about 605 km through south-eastern Australia, the Sturt Highway is a critical east-west freight and transport route connecting regional communities and major centres across NSW, Victoria and South Australia.
Every year, the highway carries more than 150,000 trailers, with some sections seeing more than 300,000 trailers annually. Families, farmers, freight operators, small businesses and tourists rely on the road every single day.
At the same time, the Sturt Highway is a major route for the renewable energy rollout, with oversized and overmass vehicles transporting wind turbine components, blades, towers and solar infrastructure to major renewable projects across the region.
Local government areas including Murrumbidgee, Hay and Edward River are at the forefront of this transition, yet these communities are being left to manage the impacts without adequate support.
Taskforce chair Ruth McRae said the Federal Government was investing billions in renewable energy projects while ignoring the roads needed to deliver them safely.
“The Sturt Highway has become a key freight route for renewable energy projects, yet there has been no meaningful investment to ensure it can safely handle the increasing freight task,” councillor McRae said.
“People in regional communities are seeing larger and more frequent heavy vehicle movements on a road that was never designed for this level of demand. They are worried about safety, and rightly so.
“Regional Australia is helping drive the nation’s energy future, but communities along the Sturt Highway are being left to carry the burden without the infrastructure investment they desperately need.
“Rural and regional Australians are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for basic safety, fair investment and recognition of the pressures these projects are placing on regional communities.
“The lack of investment places motorists, freight operators and local communities at risk, and may also impact freight efficiency, emergency response times and regional economic activity,” she said.
The taskforce was formed last year after eight Riverina councils joined forces to push for improvements to what some local leaders have described as one of regional Australia’s most dangerous freight routes. At the time, the group pointed to more than 280 crashes in five years and called for overtaking lanes, wider shoulders, better rest areas, town bypasses and driver education programs.
Neville Kschenka said Narrandera Shire Council supported the advocacy efforts of the Sturt Highway Taskforce and the call for increased investment into the highway.
“The Sturt Highway is a critical freight and transport corridor for our region and increasing heavy vehicle movements are placing additional pressure on the network,” Cr Kschenka said.
“As regional communities continue supporting renewable energy development, it is important infrastructure investment keeps pace to ensure the highway remains safe and efficient for all road users.”
The taskforce is calling on the Federal Government to commit meaningful funding to upgrade the Sturt Highway and work alongside local councils to ensure infrastructure keeps pace with development and growing freight demands.
Original Article published by Oliver Jacques on Region Riverina.
