Gather round-up: Five-hour freeway delays as hundreds more flights touch down
As Adelaide Airport marked its busiest day all year, drivers were stuck on the freeway for hours after a crash. See the pictures.
More than 30,000 passengers arrived at Adelaide Airport on Monday in what was expected to be its busiest day all year with interstate footy teams and supporters leading the charge on Gather Round weekend.
From Thursday, April 9, to Monday, April 11, more than 100 extra flights were scheduled across domestic airlines as demand for Gather Round travel surged, an airport spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, a truck crash at Crafers left many other Gather Round car travellers and Adelaide Hills commuters on the South Eastern Freeway facing delays of up to five hours after the speed was reduced to 40km/h, with travellers sharing updates on Facebook.
The B-double jack-knifed after crashing into the concrete centre divider, then into an embankment blocking lanes in both directions, SA Police said who responded to the scene at about 4pm. The freeway was reopened just before 3:30am Friday.
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Deputy Liberal Leader Josh Teague said today he heard “horrific experiences” from his community in the Adelaide Hills, where people were “stuck not moving for several hours, including stuck in the freeway tunnels for hours, with concerns about air quality and the anxiety of being in there with no movement”.
Teague called for better advice to commuters through road signs with real-time updates, and more investment to upgrade the freeway.
“State Labor must get on with prioritising the necessary work to achieve contra-flow capacity on the freeway, and, of course, investment in the Greater Adelaide freight bypass that would have significantly reduced the number of trucks that were forming the longest queue I’ve ever seen on the freeway, from the toll gate all the way to Crafers last night,” Teague said.
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Thursday’s wild weather also caused some disruption to flights, with an afternoon Jetstar flight being turned back to Melbourne because of the storm.
The flight touched down in Adelaide around 6:30pm, leaving passengers with tickets to Carlton’s clash with the Crows at Adelaide Oval less than an hour to make it by kick-off.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said on Wednesday that based on hotel bookings, airport traffic and tickets sold “this year’s Gather Round would be as big as last year’s, maybe even a little bit bigger”.
His comments came as the annul speculation reached fever pitch on whether Adelaide would again win the sought-after AFL rights to Gather Round next year – Malinauskas saying the decision would likely come after the event.
“It’s better to be right than rushed,” he said, adding that he was “pleased to report that as things stand right now, we’ve actually got more hotel rooms booked than we did at the same time last year, which is of course a record that had no precedent. So, we’re very excited about a very busy gather around this weekend.”
Today, tourism minister Emily Bourke was in the Barossa with the local mayor and AFL general manager Trristan Salter encouraging locals and visitors to use the Barossa bus service for the weekend which runs daily through Gather Round.
The service – dubbed “Bounce Around the Barossa” covers 55 local businesses and townships in the region, with three routes covering different local businesses.
“It’s a great way to see the world-class wine region and support local businesses, whether you’re going to a game or just keen to get around the incredible festival atmosphere,” Bourke said.
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