Major Works begin on O-Bahn Tunnel: 450 jobs for South Australia
Today marks the start of major works on the $160 million O-Bahn Tunnel, which will support 450 South Australians in the construction, professional and technical services industries.
Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan said together with continuing projects, such as the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the Torrens Road to River Torrens upgrade, more than $6 billion of major infrastructure projects are underway or about to start.
“The O-Bahn project will significantly improve traveltimes for more than 31,000 O-Bahn bus passengers and more than 79,000 vehicles that travel this part of the city ring route,” Mr Mullighan said.
“Once the tunnel is complete it will deliver a faster journey, reduce delays and improve reliability for O-Bahn passengers.
“And by removing more than 1000 O-Bahn buses from the Hackney Road/Dequetteville Terrace Intersection, we will significantly reduce congestion and improve travel times for motorist who use the City Ring Route,” he said.
The first part of construction will focus on the priority bus lanes on Hackney Road, with construction of the tunnel to commence in April.
The works on the centrally aligned priority bus lanes will include day and night works along Hackney Road between the Hackney Bridge and Botanic Road for approximately six weeks.
“The scheduling of works has been carefully programmed to minimise the impacts on local residents, road users and O-Bahn passengers, and to ensure the project is delivered safely and efficiently,” Mr Mullighan said.
There will also be some temporary changes to the O-Bahn and 281 bus timetables. Updated timetables are available on the Adelaide Metro website at www.adelaidemetro.com.au
During construction, some delays are expected on the Inner Ring Route, so please plan ahead for your journey and visit www.traffic.sa.gov.au for real time traffic information.
Source: News Release, Government of South Australia, 21 March 2016