Idea: Adelaide north-south motorway
Instead of widening South Road, use the north-south rail corridor to build a motorway, similar to the Kwinana Freeway in Perth. The motorway would run alongside the rail line, taking it closer to the city than South Road. It would start at Dry Creek where the Salisbury Highway becomes the Port River Expressway, and follow the rail line before branching off at Park Terrace at Ovingham, following Port Road at Thebarton, Railway Terrace at Keswick, then join back to the rail line from Keswick to Tonsley, where it can join up with the Southern Expressway. Another branch of the motorway would follow the Belair line from Goodwood to Mitcham, before heading east, parallel with Cross Road, tunnelling through the hills to join up with the Southern Expressway at Brownhill Creek. This would provide a non-stop link between the Adelaide Hills, the City, northern and southern suburbs. The sheer cost would probably mean that this would have to be a toll road, but by creating a new road, those who would rather not pay can take existing roads, while those who want to get to their destination as quickly as possible can take these new roads. Proposed route map at http://www.scribblemaps.com/maps/view/0wKN3imWjT
Links
http://www.scribblemaps.com/maps/view/0wKN3imWjT
Filed under:
transport, roads
Comments
I'm not sure how viable this model is, it sounds good....I just know that SOMETHING has to be done to aleviate the 'bottleneck' where the Southern Expressway joins South Road at Darlington
Not a bad idea in principle. The route probably needs some adjusting since the cost of land acquisition and existing road re-alignment would be near impossible as it stands, but well worth investigating the alternatives.
There is no doubt that a North-South Corridor is badly needed and action on this needs to be undertaken as soon as possible. I am sure that is something that an overwhelming majority of people will agree with both you and I on this.
However, I have to vehemently disagree with the route you have proposed. As Scott mentioned, the cost of property aquisition would be prohibitive. Not to mention, you risk alienating thousands of people and reigniting the very fear campaign which lead to the downfall of the MATS Plan in the 1970s.
I believe that it is definitely worth looking into maximising the use of space and capacity available within existing road corridors (James Congdon Drive comes to mind) as suitable pieces of the puzzle which we can use as starting points and work from there.
The more complex and complicated gaps in between would be best left to the experts and engineers who are better educated and well versed in their field of expertise; i.e. tunnelling - I'm lead to believe and understand that Adelaide soil conditions are unfavourable, but not impossible, to do so - which just complicates things a little bit more, doesn't it?
I definetly do think that the idea of doing a 'Kwinana', as I like to call it (the idea of constructing a freeway adjacent, or in the middle of a rail corridor, as done in Perth) is feasible and can be applied to the O-Bahn Busway corridor to resolve any North-Eastern suburbs traffic issues which may arise in the future.
No doubt a north south corridor is needed (but no further freeways). Putting it each side of the railway though? Hmm. Not sure I'd enjoy standing on a windswept platform in the heat with cars and trucks speeding by. And does it mean I would have to walk over great big bridges just to get to the station? Not sure about that.
Please register or login to make a comment. All comments are moderated which means there will be a short delay before your contribution is published. We reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean 5000+ or the Government of South Australia endorses the opinions expressed. Please read 5000+ Guidelines for more information.