DAC Gives Green Light to the O-Bahn City Access Project
Planning Consent for elements of the O-Bahn City Access Project within the Adelaide Park Lands was granted by the Development Assessment Commission (DAC) on 25 February 2016.
This is a significant milestone in the delivery of the O-Bahn City Access project, paving the way for works to commence on extending the O-Bahn track from Gilberton into the cross-city priority (bus) lanes on Grenfell Street.
The project will streamline the most highly patronised metropolitan public transport corridor in Adelaide, providing improved travel times and reliability for O-Bahn bus services, and reducing traffic congestion and delays on the Inner Ring Route for other road users.
The project aims to ease congestion and improve road users’ current travel times to and from the city and provide efficient, reliable and accessible public transport for the thousands of O-Bahn passengers who use this route every day.
As a result of feedback from the community and matters raised by the DAC, the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure provided additional information to the DAC, which included design improvements, urban design and landscaping enhancements, further consideration of the Park Terrace and Hackney Road intersection, stormwater infrastructure and pedestrian and cycling movements.
Preparatory works, including establishment of site compounds will commence immediately. Detailed design work is progressing, with major works along Hackney Road anticipated to commence in late March 2016, with tunnel construction works scheduled to commence from April 2016.
Construction works have been scheduled to minimise the impacts on motorists and O-Bahn passengers. There is expected to be no impact on the major events taking place in March 2016.
The successful design and construction contractor McConnell Dowell is undertaking targeted community engagement and will be providing regular updates to motorists, public transport users and local communities as works progress.
Detailed information will also be distributed to stakeholders including East End traders, councils, local residents, businesses, public transport users and organisations over the next couple of weeks.