Revised transport plan released with EastLINK tram to service old RAH site

6 July 2015

The redevelopment of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site will be boosted by the extension of a tram line along North Terrace and into East Terrace.

The government has released the revised Integrated Transport and Land Use plan today which reveals the final alignment of the EastLINK tram.

The EastLINK tram will connect to the existing tram at North Terrace, extending past the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site, connecting to East Terrace and heading on to the Parade and Magill.

It is intended to give an extra incentive to the redevelopment of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site while also providing a benefit to traders, workers, students, residents and shoppers in the East End.

More than 2,500 people have attended recent engagement events and meetings across the state as part of consultation to develop the final ITLUP.

Almost 1,500 submissions were received from councils, local government and development bodies, key industry organisations, community groups and members of the public.

The revised plan has new projects based on the feedback received from councils and communities in the growth areas of Outer Adelaide, such as Mount Barker, Gawler, Murray Bridge, Angle Vale, Virginia and Playford North.

The plan takes into account the funding available from the Commonwealth with changes to timeframes around projects brought forward such as the Darlington Upgrade and the Bald Hills Interchange, and state-funded projects such as the O-Bahn City Access project and the Gawler East Link Road.

Important projects in the plan will be implemented in the medium-term timeframe of 5 to 15 years, with work already underway in delivering the first projects.

The next stages are underway for the North-South Corridor between Torrens Road and the River Torrens, and at Darlington.

Work last week began on the first new South Eastern Freeway interchange in almost 20 years and also the road improvements in the APY Lands.

The total cost of the plan is now estimated at $39 billion, an increase of $3 billion, related to further estimates around private sector infrastructure projects to support future mining activity in port, road and rail in regional South Australia.

The State and Commonwealth governments were, on current trends, estimated to contribute $23 billion and the private sector about $10 billion.

Discussions are also underway to build on that investment with funding for new projects in the ITLUP, including:

• The next stages of the North-South Corridor, such as the Northern Connector
• Sealing the Strzelecki Track
• Upgrading key regional roads
• Addressing the freight rail capacity constraint at Torrens Junction, and
• The first stages of the AdeLINK tram network

South Australia’s Integrated Transport and Land Use Plan is available at www.transportplan.sa.gov.au