Transcript - ABC Drive Adelaide

NARELLE GRAHAM:       Minister Paul Fletcher, welcome to Drive.

PAUL FLETCHER:            Thanks, good to be with you.

NARELLE GRAHAM:       This particular section of the Darlington upgrade was announced in December, so what’s the announcement that’s happened today?

PAUL FLETCHER:            Well what we’ve announced today is that work is commencing, so major works are commencing on the $620 million Darlington project – a 3.3 kilometre upgrade which is going to deliver a non-stop roadway between the Tonsley precinct and the Southern Expressway. Now, this is a $620 million project, 80 per cent of that from the Turnbull Government and 20 per cent from the South Australian Government.

NARELLE GRAHAM:       And what’s the work that’s starting today, Minister?

PAUL FLETCHER:            Well, as of today, the physical work on the project begins, so there’ll be some 370 people employed on the project during major construction, and today is signifying the start of major construction. Also very important in terms of providing better quality infrastructure so that people can move around the city more quickly and efficiently, get to work, back from work more quickly, so that freight moves around the city more quickly, and so that Adelaide remains an extremely pleasant, liveable city.

NARELLE GRAHAM:       What’s the plan for motorists during the construction of this 3.3 kilometres? Early on there was talk about the Marion Road/Sturt Road intersection being upgraded to cater for the redistribution of traffic. Has that work finished?

PAUL FLETCHER:            Well of course, whenever you have a project of this scale you do have some disruption along the way. The Minister Stephen Mullighan, the South Australian Transport and Infrastructure Minister and I were briefed today by members of the Gateway South consortium who are building the road on the various steps that are being taken. So they’ll start by building the local roads along the side before then doing the digging to build the expressway, which will be sunken, and all of that’s being very carefully thought through to minimise the adverse effects on traffic. Now, inevitably with a project of this scale there is some disruption along the way, there’s just no way around that. They’ve worked very carefully to try and minimise that, but we do ask the people of Southern Adelaide to be patient, and the benefits will definitely be there when the project’s completed, which is scheduled to occur at the end of 2018.

NARELLE GRAHAM:       So what section of road is going to be the first to feel the impact, then, of those delays, those traffic delays, so that people can plan for that?

PAUL FLETCHER:            Well I think you’ll see at various points along the route at different stages the impact, and certainly the South Australian department, DPTI, which is leading this work will be able to provide more information about the precise [indistinct].

NARELLE GRAHAM:       Okay, but will we feel an impact on the way home today?

PAUL FLETCHER:            I don’t think you’ll see an impact on the way home today, but certainly work is ramping up very, very quickly, and of course the quicker the project can get built, the quicker we can get it done, the quicker therefore the transport benefits, the efficiency benefits, the convenience benefits will be there for the people of Southern Adelaide, everybody who needs to get to the south of the city, everybody who needs to come from the south into the city and further north, all part of providing an efficient transport infrastructure for Adelaide.

NARELLE GRAHAM:       Minister for Major Projects Paul Fletcher is with me. How long is this work going to take?

PAUL FLETCHER:            Well it’ll be completed by the end of 2018, so the best part of three years to get this 3.3 kilometre upgrade, the Darlington project, the upgrade to the South Road completed, obviously working as quickly as possible to be able to deliver these benefits for people travelling to and from the city, and particularly in the southern part of Adelaide.

NARELLE GRAHAM:       And why do you think we need it?

PAUL FLETCHER:            Well I think that a city like Adelaide clearly has a north-south axis, that’s why there’s a very strong commitment from the Turnbull Government to work with the South Australian Government in relation to the full length of the North-South Corridor. And so the Darlington project, this 3.3 kilometres, is one component of that. We announced last year a commitment to the Northern Connector, which is another element of that North-South Corridor to the north of the city, the Torrens project is another project where work is underway, and so all of these come together as part of that North-South Corridor. In any modern city it’s very important that you have efficient transport arteries, and this is a project that’s designed to upgrade the existing road infrastructure.

NARELLE GRAHAM:       Well what sort of delays do you expect over those three years while construction is happening? If you can put a time on it, do you think it might add five minutes, 10 minutes, half an hour?

PAUL FLETCHER:            Look, I think it’s difficult to put a precise time. As you know, construction projects have different elements to them, but I think the key point is that once the project is completed there will be long-term benefits because people will be able to travel a further 3.3 kilometres north from the Southern Expressway without having to wait at traffic lights. So it’s a sunken expressway, there’s a number of bridges over it, overpasses and so on that make that journey as efficient and smooth as possible.

NARELLE GRAHAM:       And I do have a statement to share with you from South Australian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan on the start of this $620 million Darlington upgrade. It says local South Australian businesses and workers will benefit most from this major project. Gateway South is committed to the South Australian industry participation policy and will provide full, fair and reasonable opportunities for industry to participate in the Darlington upgrade project. The project’s an example of the Australian and South Australian government working together to create jobs and grow the South Australian economy by investing in infrastructure. He says they’re also continuing to work together on a plan to extend the Tonsley train line to the Flinders Medical Centre.