Torrens to Torrens part of South Rd upgrade to open this weekend
MOTORISTS will save up to 10 minutes in travel time when a long-awaited $801 million stretch of the North-South corridor upgrade opens this weekend.
- Start date for Torrens to Torrens part of South Rd upgrade very close
- Popular bakery closes, blames Torrens to Torrens roadworks
MOTORISTS will save up to 10 minutes in travel time when a long-awaited $801 million stretch of the North-South corridor upgrade opens this weekend.
The section, from Torrens Rd to the River Torrens, will progressively open to traffic from 10am on Saturday morning.
“By the end of the day the entire corridor will be open and operational and we’ll get to see this fantastic new capability for our state,” Premier Steven Marshall said.
“This was a joint effort between the taxpayers of South Australia (and) the Federal Government ... and now we get on with the next phase, Pym Street to Regency Road.
“We, as the new Government, are 100 per cent committed to a free-flowing north-south corridor. We want to deliver it for the people of South Australia.”
Friday’s unveiling, after a public open day last week, was also attended by Transport Minister Stephan Knoll and Federal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, who said the upgrade was a win for business.
“This means real economic benefits — whether it’s our goods coming from McLaren Vale in fine wines, barley coming from the mid-north, citrus coming from the Riverland,” he said.
“All of those different commodities, products, can get to market sooner, lower costs, better for business, great for productivity, as well as for those who commute up and down here.”
It is expected the upgrade, which includes a 3km stretch of lowered road, will be used by up to 115,000 vehicles every day.
The South Australian and Federal governments each contributed $400.5 million to fund the project.
Several parts of South Road, which stretches from Adelaide’s north to south, have already been upgraded as part of a coalition promise to complete the work within a decade.
But the road works, which began in August, 2015, have not been without controversy.
Earlier this month a popular suburban bakery, which once had three outlets employing dozens of staff, announced it was closing down — and blamed the Torrens to Torrens project for its demise.
Red Door Bakery had operated on Elizabeth St in Croydon for almost nine years, with its owners, Gareth and Emma Grierson, also opening a pizza shop next door, Croydon Social.
The couple said they had been forced to shut up both eateries, laying blame firmly at the feet of ongoing disruptions caused by the roadwork project