Last section of SA North-South Corridor is now set to be built

The South Australian and Australian Governments are joining hands to deliver South Australia’s largest ever infrastructure project in the State’s history – the final section of the North-South Corridor. 

The Torrens to Darlington (T2D) Project will deliver the final 10.5-kilometre section of the North-South Corridor and it is considered as the most complex section of the corridor due to its ground conditions as well as the unique heritage assets and social character of the surrounding area. 

“The North-South Corridor is a game-changing piece of infrastructure that will change the way people move across Adelaide. 

“This is the most significant and eagerly anticipated road infrastructure project ever delivered in South Australia,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. 

The North-South Corridor is expected to become one of the State’s most important infrastructure projects, revolutionising the way people travel. 

In addition, the T2D Project is anticipated to create approximately 4,000 jobs. 

“This project is a generational game changer for South Australian motorists – and the largest delivered in more than a century. 

“The benefits of our decision will be felt for generations, with the project alone estimated to create up to 4,000 jobs, slash travel time by 24 minutes and connect the north and the south of our state with a 78km non-stop motorway,” Premier Steven Marshall said. 

After a comprehensive analysis on a number of factors – including traffic, ground conditions, local environment, heritage assets as well as community and stakeholder feedback – it has been found that a hybrid+ design for the T2D Project will provide the best social and economic benefits for South Australia. 

The hybrid+ option will feature a combination of tunnels, lowered and ground-level motorway, and overpasses / underpasses at key intersections – which will be defined during the project’s design refinement stage. 

“The tunnelling solution we’ve come up with will minimise community impact, improve east-west travel, increase overall network capacity to reduce congestion, and deliver greater safety benefits. 

“With the hybrid+ solution we can protect iconic community and heritage assets including the Thebarton Theatre, Hindmarsh Cemetery, Hoffman Brick Kiln and Queens of Angels Church, to name a few,” South Australian Infrastructure and Transport Minister Corey Wingard said. 

This design option will also require less property acquisition, reduce impact to local businesses during the construction phase and save several heritage buildings from being demolished. 

The final section of the North-South Corridor is going to be delivered in two stages, namely: 

• Southern Tunnel (Stage 1) - delivering about 6 kilometres of motorway including more than 4 kilometres of tunnel between Anzac Highway to Darlington 
• Airport Link and Northern Tunnel (Stage 2) - delivering an at-surface motorway and a second tunnel, connecting River Torrens to Anzac Highway 

The first stage of the T2D Project is going to be built within the existing joint funding commitment of $5.4 billion from the State and Australian Governments, which will deliver a faster return on investment and early benefits for motorists. 

The final 10.5-kilometre section of the North-South Corridor is estimated to have a project cost of $8.9 billion. The final project value, however, is going to be determined at the completion of a detailed business case and following considerations from Infrastructure SA and Infrastructure Australia. 

This significant infrastructure project will now progress to the next development stage, which includes ground investigations, detailed design work and a comprehensive stakeholder engagement program that will inform a reference design to be released by late-2021. 

Early works are already underway, beginning with ground investigations and utility relocation works will begin in 2021. 

Major construction on the T2D Project is anticipated to commence in late 2023 and completed by 2030. 

Source: Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure; Government of South Australia – Department of Infrastructure and Transport (1, 2, 3); Prime Minister of Australia – Media Release