Calls to upgrade 'sketchy' Sturt Highway freight route

Communities and councils are calling for urgent safety upgrades across a 70-kilometre stretch of highway on one of Australia's critical freight routes.

The Sturt Highway stretches about 605km from Tarcutta in New South Wales, through Victoria, to finish in Adelaide, South Australia.

South-west NSW residents have frequently raised safety concerns about the highway between Gol Gol and Euston and about the intersections serving agricultural and freight traffic.

Last month, a man in his 40s died after a multi-vehicle crash on that stretch of highway.

The fatal collision happened only hours after a truck driver escaped injury when his truck rolled over just kilometres away.

Preliminary Transport for NSW 2025 data showed there had been four crashes reported between Gol Gol and Paringi on the Sturt Highway.

Two crashes resulted in injuries, while the other two were tow-away crashes.

Data for 2026 on the same stretch of road showed there had been one fatal crash.

However, the data only reported crashes in which a person was killed or injured, or in which at least one vehicle was towed, meaning minor collisions would not be included in the data.

Wentworth Shire Council Mayor Daniel Linklater said the highway was a very high-volume and use area with "far too many sketchy episodes".

"We had the dreadful incident [last month] at Trentham Cliffs where a young member of our community lost his life," Cr Linklater said.

"We have to make this corridor safer and more productive."

Wentworth Shire is one of eight councils that make up the Sturt Highway Taskforce committee, which is seeking investment for the road's improvements.

Cr Linklater said investment into the Sturt Highway continued to be one of their "primary advocacy areas".

"An overtaking lane or a series of overtaking lanes is long overdue and absolutely necessary throughout the Wentworth and Balranald shires," he said.

Taskforce chair and Murrumbidgee Shire Mayor Ruth McRae said high-speed traffic movement, significant freight volumes and fatigue by interstate drivers contributed to crashes.

"People use this road every day and tell us that they don't feel that the road has kept pace with the traffic task it's now carrying," Cr McRae said.

Transport for NSW data between July 2019 and June 2024 highlighted there were 277 crashes along the NSW stretch of the highway.

In the same period, there were 241 casualties, with 15 of those crashes fatal and 40 left drivers with serious injuries.

The ABC understands that 50 per cent of the crashes were multi-vehicle crashes, 40 per cent single vehicle and heavy vehicles were involved in about 28-30 per cent of the crashes.

Billions on renewable projects

Cr McRae said the Sturt Highway was built for a very different era and was now carrying significantly higher freight volumes like oversized renewable energy infrastructure.

"Given the billions being invested nationally in renewable energy infrastructure, investing in the road network that delivers these projects is, we feel, both reasonable and necessary,"

Cr McRae said.

"It makes sense to invest a fraction of that amount into the road infrastructure required to transport these renewable energy projects safely.

"The scale of the investment does not yet match the scale of the challenge."

The group wants a safety upgrade of the entire highway, rather than isolated upgrades.

"I think the time is here and right now that the Sturt Highway needs a significant change of oversight by the government for investment," Cr McRae said.

The committee had identified upgrades it believed would improve safety immediately, including more overtaking lanes to reduce risky passing behaviour, wider centre line separation and more heavy vehicle rest areas.

"Between Mildura, Gol Gol and Euston, there are long stretches where drivers can spend long periods behind heavy vehicles and [have] limited to no safe overtaking opportunities. This creates frustration and increases risk-taking behaviour," she said.

The taskforce committee asked the federal government for $200 million for the strategic oversight and for the government to commit to investment over multiple years.

Cr McRae said she was disappointed no money was in the 2026-27 federal budget.

The committee will request the $200 million investment from the NSW government in the upcoming state budget.

The group estimated $600-800 million would be required to bring the Sturt Highway to a safe standard.

Member for Murray Helen Dalton has thrown her support behind the taskforce reiterating the need for upgrades and investment.

"It's a main arterial route and [the NSW Minister for Transport] needs to get on with the job and actually allocate the money," Ms Dalton said.

In a statement, NSW Minister for Roads Jenny Aitchison said she was "deeply concerned by the crashes" on the south-west section of the highway.

"Transport for NSW continues to work with the Sturt Highway Taskforce and local councils to review crash data and identify priority safety improvements," Ms Aitcheson said.