[COM] South Road Superway | $842m | 3km

[bmw boy]

pffft

that eyesore shuddve been included in the demolition

[crawf]

What idiots

[ozisnowman]

The government while at least spending some money on the Anzac Highway Underpass
and later on the Grange-Port Road Tunnel and Sturt Road Underpass are not doing enough...

To be spending so much money and only making these underpasses and tunnels
two lanes wide each side is so short sighted that it is not funny... At least build them
three lanes wide that way if South Road ever gets widened to 3 lanes each way
then they wont have to stuff around with the underpasses and tunnels...

3 lanes wont happen you say, maybe not but that will only end up hurting the State
in the long run as i believe in a few decades time with increased freight and
private traffic on our roads even an upgraded non stop South Road will not cope
and we will then have to see overpass/underpass duplication on Marion Road,
Goodwood Road, Main North Road etc. It will end up costing us a lot more
just because the dont have the balls to obtain loans to finance $2-3billion
and fix the problem the right way now....

[jimmy_2486]

Sydney are suffering in their jocks atm because they only made the M5 tunnel 2 lanes each way. They obviously had the mentallity that we have now. One day we might end up like Sydney the way we are going becuase we are not building things the way we used to. We used to have the long term in mind, now its all just patch up improvements.

[drsmith]

The cost to upgrade South Road to a free flowing experessway will ultimately be in the order of several billion and in the absence of a very significant increase in Adelaide's population, I can't see it ever happening. In recent years the cost of road construction has skyrocketed. The cost associated with the New Northern Expressway Project is a prime example of this as is another major road project in Western Australia that is currently undrer construction, the Peel Deviation (Mandurah Bypass).

It has been 20 years since I have lived in Adelaide but I note that when I have been back for short visits since then, South Road through the inner western suburbs has changed little in that time. It's present state as a major transport route is a testamant to very poor long term transport planning.

South Road through the inner western suburbs was never intended to be anything more than a full access suburban street. If memory serves me correct the original MATS plan from the 1960's reserved alternative land for a north/south freeway. The land required to upgrade South Road to an above ground freeway would be extremely costly given the development either side of the road and hence the cost of the land required. The other alternative is underpasses and tunnels which in themselves are much more expensive to construct than bridges and a surface freeway.

Even if all the major intersections on south Road are grade seperated it will still be far from a free flowing expressway. The full access nature of this suburban street will necessitate the upgrade of smaller intersections with either new or more complex traffic signals so that side street traffic can still enter and exit South Road itself. The only way South Road can ever be free flowing is if it becomes a limited access road. In the absence of major land aquisition for a surface freeway with bridges, the only other option is for complete tunneling of South Road under the inner western suburbs.

With regard to present underpass upgrades I too am of the view that they should be 3 lanes each way to allow for future growth. The Northbridge Tunnel built just to the north of the Perth CBD was completed about 7 years ago and is two lanes in each direction. It is now congested during peak periods, but there is an emergency stopping lane on each carridgeway which can be converted to a traffic lane providing 3 lanes in each direction in the future.

The following link contains some historical information on freeway planning in Adelaide.

http://www.ozroads.com.au/SA/freeways.htm

[rhino]

Thanks for that link Dr Smith - it was a very interesting read!

[Howie]

Certainly was Dr Smith.. thanks for posting that up.

I might make it a permanent link on the Links page.

[Ben]

From The Advertiser:

Rudd's $500m for South Rd

November 09, 2007 01:30pm

A FEDERAL Labour Government would spend $500 million on upgrading South Rd and a further $80 million on the Dukes Hwy, Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd announced this afternoon.

The South Rd upgrade would include overpasses at Grand Junction Rd, Sturt Rd, Cormack Rd and the Wingfield rail line.

Mr Rudd said $70m of that would go on “getting started” on planning for a traffic light-free road all the way from the Southern Expressway to the Port River Expressway

The $80m for safety upgrades on the Dukes Hwy would include overtaking lanes, rest areas and pavement reconstruction.

An extra $3m would go on investigating the feasibility of moving the main freight line through Belair, in the Adelaide Hills.

[bmw boy]

good to hear, so either way its going to get federal funding

How much is howard 'promising' ??

[rogue]

Pretty poor response to the incumbent governments proposal.

[Shuz]

Rudd calls for overpass at Sturt Rd intersection, Rann's plans is underpass there. And where the hell is Cormack Road?
I'm not too keen on the idea that South Rd is just going to turn into one gigantic rollercoaster ride. Up and down and up and down.

[rogue]

Cormack Road is at the northern end of South Road just before it heads into the wetlands at Greenfields. An overpass will also go over the nearby rail line.

[Will409]

With the overpasses at Grand Junction Road, Cormack Road and the Port Loop line, that would mean that three new overpasses would be built within 2-3kms or so and there is already an overpass on the north side carriage way at the Port River Expressway intersection. Not only that but Cormack Road and the rail line are only 200-300m apart so it would be a very long overpass. It would have to be a VERY steep incline going down hill when heading north bound also so it could then meet up at the base of the current overpass. May as well elevate the whole section of South Road from the Grand Junction Road intersection to the Port River Expressway intersection considering all the rises and falls!

[Howie]

With the overpasses at Grand Junction Road, Cormack Road and the Port Loop line, that would mean that three new overpasses would be built within 2-3kms

That's not too bad, the hanson road and eastern parade overpasses on the port river expressway are pretty close together (about 2km)..
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&hl=e ... &z=15&om=1

And i find them to be an absolute joy to drive on.

[Norman]

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