Ridley Road is a roughly 40-kilometre stretch of road between Mannum and Sedan. It is apart of a North-South freight route that connect the South-Eastern Freeway at Murray Bridge to the Sturt Highway near Truro.

Over the last few years, trucks have started using the freight route to bypass the South-Eastern Freeway. Ever since, the route has deteriorated in quality. Notably, the entire road is riddled with potholes, causing drivers to dangerously drive on the shoulder or the middle of the road.

What has been done to fix the road so far? Well, some potholes have been filled in, but the fixes have been incredibly low quality. For example, a pothole near Mannum was filled in one day, and reopened the next. In the particularly bad stretches the speed limit has been lowered, and traffic hazard signs put up, but these aren't really a "fix". The road needs a permanent fix, and major upgrades.

For starters, the bad stretches of road should be completely rebuilt. It is clearly an issue with the surface, so therefore it should be rebuilt. Ideally the entire road should be rebuilt, to ensure it never gets this bad again. It should also be widened, to make it more accommodating for the oversize loads that use this route so often.

Overtaking lanes need to be built at different spots along the route, as getting stuck behind a truck is far too common nowadays. Especially with the amount of traffic, overtaking sometimes isn't an option, creating delays for commuters. The traffic could also get worse, as the proposed Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass could divert up to 1000 more trucks on to the road daily.

Left turning lanes should be built at most intersections along the route, as nothing is more terrifying than needing to make a turn and seeing a truck barrelling up behind you in the rearview mirror. It doesn't need to be anything flashy, a wider shoulder with the right lane markings is all that is needed.

The parking bays along the route are not only limited but low-quality. The two "rest areas" are both unsealed with zero facilities. This causes drivers to instead park up on the side of the freight route, such as in Sedan, where they park out front of the cemetery. This is incredibly dangerous and shows how better facilities are desperately needed.

The trucks are often speeding through our towns, such as Cambrai, where a primary school is located right on the freight route. Better speed signs need to be installed, and average speed cameras zones need to be implemented, to change the behavior of the truck drivers.

In the long term, we need to find a way to get the trucks out of our towns.

Ideally a bypass should be built around Cambrai and Sedan, as this would not only mean trucks don't have to slow down for the towns, but it would keep the community safe from potential accidents. It will be needed sooner rather than later, especially if the Greater Adelaide Freight Bypass gets up, which could divert up to 1000 more trucks down the main streets of our town per day.

With enough signatures, we could finally get the government to give Ridley Road and this entire freight route the attention, maintenance and upgrades it so desperately needs and deserves.