Parliamentary Committees

Public Works Committee: North-South Corridor Torrens to Darlington Project

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:02): I move:

That the 57^th report of the committee, entitled North-South Corridor Torrens to Darlington Project, be noted.

The Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) proposes to upgrade the final section of the north-south corridor from the River Torrens to Darlington, more commonly referred to as the T2D project. The north-south corridor serves as one of the state's most important transport routes and has been progressively upgraded for over a decade.

This project is the final vital link in the 78-kilometre nonstop motorway between Gawler and Old Noarlunga. Upon completion, drivers will be able to bypass 21 sets of traffic lights as they travel through two separate tunnels connected by an open motorway. The transport network on South Road is under stress and there is a growing demand for north-south movement in this part of the road network. This has resulted in variable and increased travel times for drivers, as well as an increased crash risk.

The T2D project will reduce congestion and improve travel times on South Road and nearby arterial roads. It will improve road safety, provide urban renewal opportunities and improve access to economic gateways and national highways. This will contribute to the strategic priority of the state to unlock the full potential of the 78-kilometre north-south corridor.

The T2D will move traffic into tunnels to reduce the number of home and business acquisitions, although, due to the scale and complexity of the project, there will be unavoidable impacts on land. DIT confirms that 524 publicly and privately owned properties will be acquired for the main works. The tunnels will also enable better community connections at the surface, reduce the impacts on trees and vegetation, and preserve important cultural and heritage sites such as the Thebarton Theatre and Queen of Angels Church.

This remaining 10.5-kilometre section of the corridor is the most complex section to upgrade, as it runs through Adelaide's dense inner suburbs, with numerous shopping hubs, commercial precincts, residential areas and cultural heritage sites. The section is one of Adelaide's busiest roads and currently carries over 60,000 vehicles per day, with over 13 per cent of this traffic being commercial vehicles.

As a result of the high demand and limited capacity, South Road has become congested and travel times are slow, with drivers at times experiencing travel times between the River Torrens and Darlington of up to 40 to 50 minutes. Significant timesaving benefits will result from the completion of this upgrade. With the motorway operating at 80 km/h, it will mean a nine-minute journey from the River Torrens to Darlington for those who stay on the motorway, with an average saving for the entire corridor of more than one hour.

The capital cost of the project is $15.4 billion, with the project funded on a fifty-fifty basis by the South Australian and federal governments. DIT confirms that enabling and early works have commenced, and construction of the main works is said to commence in 2025, with the project being open to traffic in 2031. The main works of the T2D project will comprise a southern tunnel section near Anzac Highway, which will provide connectivity to Anzac Highway and includes approximately four kilometres of twin three-lane tunnels, with the remainder of the section an open motorway.

There will be an open motorway section to link the southern and northern tunnels that will connect key routes, such as Richmond Road and James Congdon Drive, providing critical east-west connectivity, linking destinations such as the CBD and Adelaide Airport. Noise walls, urban design features and significant landscaping will be installed along this section.

There will be a northern tunnel section between James Congdon Drive and the completed Torrens Road to River Torrens motorway project, with just over two kilometres of twin three-lane tunnels and open motorway at each end of the tunnels, and initiatives providing improved liveability and connectivity outcomes, including shared-use path connections, bridging the corridor and maintaining important east-west connectivity.

DIT has adopted sustainable development strategies into the project to minimise greenhouse gas emissions and resources over the lifespan of the project and to ensure that climate change risks, such as increased temperatures and rainfall patterns, have been considered. Delivery of the project will require contractors to work under the environmental, heritage and sustainability requirements of the department. DIT will ensure that key environmental and heritage aspects, including vegetation, fauna, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal heritage, water quality, noise and vibration, air quality and contamination issues, are addressed.

The department confirms the project management will follow structured plans to ensure consistency and that the works will follow their standard program and project management framework. Risk management will form an integral part of the project management process and include appropriate management or mitigation measures for project delivery. An extensive stakeholder and community engagement strategy guide has been developed for the lifespan of the T2D project. Additionally, extensive consultation and engagement with stakeholders and the wider community is ongoing.

DIT confirms that between December 2022 and February 2023 there were multiple engagement opportunities, including face-to-face public interactions, public information sessions and surveys to obtain feedback. Of the feedback received, DIT confirms that 71 per cent of respondents were positive or very positive about the proposed project design.

After consultation with the Attorney-General's Department Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation unit, it was determined that there are no registered or reported Aboriginal sites, objects and ancestral remains within the project area. An assessment has identified some state and local heritage places, roadside significant sites and historic and character overlay areas impacted by the project. For other state and local heritage places and buildings that will be indirectly impacted by the works, DIT states that vibration assessments will be prepared where these impacts are anticipated.

The committee examined written and oral evidence in relation to the north-south corridor Torrens to Darlington project. Witnesses who appeared before the committee were Wayne Buckerfield, Executive Director, North-South Corridor, Department for Infrastructure and Transport; Andrew Ockenden, Executive Director, Public Affairs, Department for Infrastructure and Transport; and Scott Cooper, Director, Project Planning and Interfaces, North-South Corridor, Department for Infrastructure and Transport. I thank witnesses for their time.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the member for Badcoe, who provided a statement to the committee supporting this project in her electorate. Based upon the evidence considered, and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public work.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley) (11:09): I rise today to speak to the 57^th report of the Public Works Committee entitled North-South Corridor Torrens to Darlington Project, and that it be noted. We know that this is a—if not the most—significant infrastructure project in South Australia's history, which is why governments of the day need to get it right.

Again this morning we have learnt that 21 sets of traffic lights will be bypassed once this project is completed. Of course, we need to do whatever we can to reduce congestion on our roads in Adelaide because, at the moment, Adelaide is the third most congested city in Australia, as has been reported recently. This project, notably, has expanded to a sum, as was provided, of $15.4 billion, that was originally $9.9 billion. We will continue to scrutinise that expenditure and hold the government to account because, if history is any indication, most of the time government projects of this nature usually take longer to do and the price inevitably increases and does not decrease. We will continue to hold the government to account on those key metrics.

I note that under the revised plan there are also an extra 118 acquisitions, and the processing of some of these acquisitions remains a concern, not only for the land acquisitions but also the businesses that are effectively being removed and having to be replaced. We were out there only last week, on 2 April, when certain business owners said to us that they felt somewhat hamstrung by the Labor government in what they said were failed and unfair negotiations over property value.

We met with multiple business owners recently and some of them took to sharing their stories on TV and radio to literally anyone who would listen. There remain some business owners who are set to be effectively kicked out of their workplace with just months to go, with literally nowhere to go in some instances, they say.

Some of these people are telling us that low-ball offers have been made, and some of these businesses are, of course, well-established family operations, so it goes without saying that this acquisition process can certainly be improved, and we will continue to provide examples of where people are unhappy with this acquisition process. We know that there is need for community support roles when major projects involve property acquisition. We think it is also an opportunity for the government to look at establishing an acquisitions task force for future acquisition projects in the state—as we pointed out recently.

Regarding the time line that was provided to me only recently, I believe that the first of the tunnel-boring machines are set to start tunnelling in 2026—which is not that far away at all. It is said, via a government site, that in mid-2026 tunnel boring machines will commence for the southern tunnel, and then in late 2028 to early 2029 tunnel-boring machines will commence work on the northern tunnel. By mid-2030, at the moment with the time line provided to me, the southern tunnel will be open for traffic, and in late 2031, the northern tunnel will be open to traffic.

In terms of total acquisitions, it is notable that the total land acquisition has increased. It has increased to a total of 524 acquisitions, and that is a shift of 118. We note the colossal magnitude of this project. We will continue to monitor it from a time line perspective, and we will continue to hold the government to account from an expenditure perspective, as well. I move that the report be noted.

Mr BROWN (Florey) (11:14): I want to take this opportunity to thank the member for Hartley for his contribution and again acknowledge his contribution as a member of the Public Works Committee.

Motion carried.