The final 10.5km stretch of SA’s North-South Corridor is set to save freight operators approximately $8.80 per trip, according to the state government – along with connecting the north and south of the state with a 78km non-stop motorway.
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Corey Wingard said the Torrens to Darlington project will provide efficient access to and from key freight areas; delivering South Australian products to market faster.
“The hybrid+ design will not only benefit commuters, it will also have wide-reaching economic benefits for freight and commercial vehicles,” Wingard said.
“When this section is complete, motorists will be able to travel from the River Torrens to Darlington in around eight minutes, bypassing 21 sets of traffic lights and saving up to 24 minutes in travel time per trip.
“The fuel used and the costs incurred by freight operators when they are stuck in traffic or stopping and starting at traffic lights can be substantial but this project will deliver a faster, smoother and non-stop journey.
“Lower vehicle operating costs for commercial and freight operators every time they use the corridor will be a welcome boost to businesses.”
Wingard added that the project would also provide more efficient links between key industry and freight routes of the National Land Transport Network, the Port of Adelaide, Adelaide Airport, the city’s manufacturing and industrial precincts, and the northern and southern regions of South Australia.
“The Southern Tunnel in particular will provide significant network benefits through the removal of the Edwardstown bottleneck on South Road and improved access to the CBD from the south of Adelaide,” he said.
The River Torrens to Darlington stretch will be transformed over the next decade with a combination of tunnelling and at-surface infrastructure. Once complete, the project will link Gawler, to the north of the city, with Old Noarlunga in the south.