The Regency Road to Pym Street (R2P) project is on the fast track to early completion in a major win for road users and local businesses.
The $354 million R2P project, jointly funded by the Morrison and Marshall Governments, is expected to open to traffic in late April 2021, months ahead of schedule with expected savings of between $20 million to $40 million.
Full project completion which includes landscaping, ITS commissioning and final asphalting is scheduled to be complete for the end of 2021, instead of early 2022.
Having started on the Marshall Liberal Government's watch, the congestion busting R2P project is being delivered seamlessly while creating 210 jobs per year during construction.
Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said the project will deliver travel time savings of up to eight minutes during peak periods and 4.5 minutes on average for around 53,000 motorists on South Road from Regency Road to Pym Street.
"For locals travelling along this route in peak periods day in and day out, eight minutes off their commute adds up to around two whole days each year," Minister Fletcher said.
"These are days they will soon get to spend with family or doing the things they enjoy rather than staring at the brake lights of cars on a congested road - welcome news for the entire community.
"Even more importantly, this project is improving the safety of this popular North-South corridor, reducing the risk of crashes to provide greater peace of mind to locals and visitors alike."
South Australian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, the Hon Corey Wingard MP, said the R2P project is an example of excellent engineering and delivery.
"This project forms part of our record $16.7 billion investment in infrastructure across the state which is creating more than 19,000 jobs and building what matters for South Australia," Minister Wingard said.
"The R2P project is a great example of how innovative thinking can lead to better outcomes for the community.
"With savings expected between $20 million and $40 million on this project, we're looking at opportunities to redirect that money to other priority projects across the state.
"It's fantastic to be able to support local, family-owned businesses though our major infrastructure projects."
The milestones keep coming for the R2P project - jointly funded by the Australian and South Australian governments on a 50:50 basis.
The project is constructing a new 1.8-kilometre section of non-stop motorway along South Road, connecting the South Road Superway to the Torrens Road to River Torrens project, and includes a pedestrian and cyclist overpass.
Spanning 57 metres over both the North-South Motorway and South Road surface roads - the overpass will support pedestrian and cyclist connectivity to surrounding destinations.
The pedestrian and cyclist overpass, which this week took a special 600-kilometre detour journey from Bowhill to Adelaide, is expected to open in late March 2021. At 95 tonnes, it was one of the largest volumetric loads ever to move through South Australia.
In a testament to quality, local engineering, South Australian company Bowhill Engineering was engaged to build and deliver girder segments for the Regency Road overpass as well as temporary steel trestles on which it was built before being placed into its final position in January 2021.
On Saturday, 20 February 2021, the pedestrian and cyclist overpass will be lifted to the northern side of Pym Street, Croydon Park.
