By Lynda Myer
Considering the feedback from industry, the South Australian government has made design and delivery changes to the Torrens to Darlington (T2D) Project, that includes changes on design and a review of the procurement approach, as well as adopting an alliance contracting structure. Hence delivery of multiple packages of work will be allowed.
The expected timeline is commencing the procurement process in this month and granting the contract in the next year.
Once the review was completed, construction process of the Southern Tunnel and Northern Tunnel is due to be occur sequentially, rather than overlapping as originally planned. This program of works will smooth out labour demand at peak construction.
As the final and most complex section of Adelaide’s 78km North-South Corridor, the 10.5km Torrens to Darlington Project is the most significant infrastructure project ever undertaken in South Australia, which involves two sets of twin three-lane tunnels, lowered and ground-level motorways, as well as overpasses and underpasses and upgrades at key intersections. Meanwhile, more than half of the project is going to be tunnels.
While the date of starting main construction work is scheduled to be 2025, in 2026 the first TBM will be commissioned for the Southern Tunnel. The Southern Tunnel is due to be inaugurated in 2030 and the entire T2D Project will be open in 2031.
