Adelaide tram extension works: First section of rail panel laid at North Tce, King William St intersection
PICTURES show the eerie emptiness of Adelaide’s usually busiest intersection, as the first section of rail panel was laid this morning for the tram extension project.
- Adelaide tram extension works to close North Tce, King William St intersection
- Traders ‘not consulted’ over key plank of the tram extension works
- Steve Maras: New tram should turn right at North Terrace
WORK to lay tram tracks at the intersection at North Tce and King William St is well under way with the first section of rail panel put in place.
Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Stephen Mullighan tweeted on Thursday morning that more than 100 workers and six rock-breaker excavators had been working around the clock.
“(The) majority of the concrete and asphalt has now been removed and the first parts of (the) track are being laid this morning,” he tweeted.
Pictures taken this morning show the rail panel being put into place, with Adelaide’s busiest intersection looking more like an archaeological dig and eerily devoid of traffic.
The intersection closed at the start of the week for a fortnight, as part of the $80 million tram extension project. The State 4 works set in concrete the State Government’s decision to exclude a right-hand turn to the East End.
Mr Mullighan has repeatedly defended the decision to exclude a right-hand turn from King William St into North Tce, stating it gets “the balance right” between maintaining traffic flow through the intersection and running very high frequency services along North Tce to the East End end.
Work on the controversial intersection is being conducted 24/7 to minimise disruption, with buses replacing trams and timetable changes between Victoria Square and the Entertainment Centre for three weeks.
Public buses and cars are being forced to take detours around the intersection and make new alternate stops until January 15.
Workers returning to the CBD following the Christmas break were initially met with confusion as they tried to navigate public transport changes and road closures.
Traders also have been left frustrated. The manager of Adelaide’s biggest car park operator says traders were not consulted over a key plank of the North Tce tram extension works and have become “victims of political objectives”.
But he State Government has denied numerous traffic works currently underway in SA are being rushed so they can be completed by March.
A spokeswoman said on Tuesday there had to be a continuous flow of work schedules.