Wrecking ball continues to hang over buildings along North-South corridor

The government’s given its strongest indication yet it wants tunnels under South Rd, calling in experts to build a case – meaning a decision on hundreds of historic buildings is months away.

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Experts will be engaged early next year to help establish the case for tunnels to complete the North-South corridor.

The decision means nervous residents, traders and supporters of heritage icons including the Thebarton Theatre, could be waiting at least six months for a decision on the future of properties.

The River Torrens to Darlington section of the North-South Corridor will be the biggest infrastructure project in South Australia’s history.

For more than a year, a team lead by global professional services firm Price Waterhouse Coopers, has been developing a business case for the project.

A decision on whether to forge ahead with a single or multiple tunnels will now be pushed back until the middle of next year.

An artist impression of an exit on one of the possible tunnels to link the River Torrens to Darlington, part of the non-stop North-South freeway project under construction across Adelaide.

The team of experts, who also worked on the business case, will further investigate the viability of the two tunnelling options.

This would include geotechnical and hydrogeology studies, heritage and environmental studies and map services, including phone cables, in the area.

Infrastructure Minister Stephan Knoll will today also reveal the State Government will establish a Program Management Office (PMO) within the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure to deal specifically with the final – and most controversial – stages of the project. Mr Knoll said the initial business case, in conjunction with advice from Infrastructure SA, has prompted the Government to undertake more planning and geotechnical work to further assess tunnelling.

“Governments have a responsibility to spend taxpayers’ money wisely and that’s why we are taking the time to gather the necessary information before deciding how to spend billions of taxpayer dollars,” Mr Knoll said.

“Tunnels of the magnitude we are looking at are extremely complex and that’s why we need to do the geotechnical and hydrogeology investigation works.

“We need to take a look under the surface to ensure we understand what soil types and geology we are dealing with.

“As soon as planning works have sufficiently progressed, we will be working with local communities, relevant industry and other stakeholders.”

Where the tunnels could run.

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Local residents have been advocating for tunnels despite calls on Thursday from the Civil Construction Federation that an elevated roadway should be constructed over South Rd to avoid tunnels and a decade-long build.

Opposition government accountability spokesman Tom Koutsantonis has called for tunnels to be used to spare heritage buildings, including the theatre and the 104-year-old Queen of Angels church.

“There is now no excuse, no impediment and no reason not to tunnel,” he said. “I will seek signatures from right across the state, across the country and across the globe – these heritage-listed properties are important to a lot of people and must remain.

“The Marshall Liberal Government must end the uncertainty once and for all and make an announcement by the end of this year – as they promised.”