Darlington Upgrade Project
The Darlington Upgrade Project is another important stage in the delivery of Adelaide's North-South Corridor and will deliver an upgrade of approximately 3.3 kilometres of the existing Main South Road, including:
- A non-stop motorway between the Southern Expressway and north of Tonsley Boulevard
- A non-stop motorway passing underneath Flinders Drive, Sturt Road, Sutton Road/Mimosa Terrace, Ayliffes Road bridge and Tonsley Boulevard
- Grade separation of the Main South Road/Ayliffes Road/Shepherds Hill Road intersection
- Main South Road (at grade) surface roads along both sides of the lowered motorway to provide connections to Flinders Drive, Sturt Road, Tonsely Boulevard and most local roads
- Full free flow interchange at the Southern Expressway/Main South Road with dedicated ramps providing direct access to, and from, the new motorway and Main South Road
- A two-lane overpass for northbound traffic travelling east on to Ayliffes Road
The $754.5 million project is jointly funded by Australian and State governments ($603.6 million federally funded and $150.9 million state funded). The project is scheduled for completion in mid-2020.
Major Traffic Switch - September 2019
The Darlington Upgrade Project is being constructed in stages to ensure traffic continues to flow efficiently through this important section of the North-South Corridor.
The next traffic switch will occur over the weekend of 27-29 September, weather permitting, and will involve the reconfiguration of traffic in the lowered motorway and opening the new Ayliffes Road bridge to traffic.
As a result, the lowered motorway will be closed between Ayliffes Road and the Southern Expressway from 8pm Friday 27 September to 8am Saturday 28 September. To access the Southern Expressway, motorists will need to use the Flinders Drive or Marion Road on-ramps.
This flyer outlines the details of this traffic switch.
Explore our interactive map to see what’s happening locally
Click or tap on the Project news panel and dots to see how the new roads and bridges are taking shape – and learn what this project means to our community. We will be adding more dots during the next few months, so keep exploring...
Click the icons on the map for project information
First major bridge installation using SPMTs
As an Australian-first, the Darlington Upgrade Project’s first major bridge was successfully transported into place using “self-propelled modular transporters”. Installation was completed well ahead of schedule.
Flinders Drive bridge construction
The Flinders Drive bridge is being constructed using the “top down” method. Once construction is complete at road surface level, traffic will be switched onto the new bridge before excavation begins to create the lowered motorway. Learn more...
Cyclist and pedestrian access to be improved
Separated, two-way cycling paths and footpaths along both sides of the corridor, where space allows, will enhance linkages for pedestrians and cyclists accessing services, facilities and public transport as well as providing for cyclist commuters travelling through the area. Learn more...
Thank you event for local community
The Darlington Upgrade Project team hosted a community outdoor cinema event at Warriparinga Wetlands as a thank you to the local community and stakeholders for their patience during construction. Around 150 people enjoyed a free sausage sizzle, popcorn and fauna nesting box workshops before the movie kicked off at sundown.
Local business involved in Australian-first
South Australian business, Bowhill Engineering, fabricated 10 bridge segments at its River Murray workshop to be used as part of the bridges over the Southern Expressway. These bridges were transported into place using “self-propelled modular transporters”, an Australian first. Learn more...
Local students gain real life experience
After a close-up site tour, Pasadena High and TafeSA Civil Engineering students had the opportunity to hear from engineers and other members of the project team about becoming an engineer, innovation in the construction industry and what it’s like to work on a major infrastructure project.
Major bridge installation - Main South Road and Southern Expressway
Ayliffes Road Bridge installed
Schools building new habitats with project team
The Darlington upgrade project team has been working with the local community and schools building nesting boxes and creating habitat. More than 40 nesting boxes will be installed in nature reserves in and around the project area by the end of 2019.
Forbes and Brighton Primary Schools have dedicated their time in participating in environment and heritage workshops. Together with the project team, a zoologist and Kaurna Elders, the school’s Year 5 students spent a day learning about the importance of hollow bearing trees in our environment and our indigenous culture.
The environmental and heritage workshops promote supplementary initiatives to the traditional approach applied to engagement of environmental issues, and in particular vegetation and habitat impacts. The approach moves away from the sole reliance on offset planting for vegetation removal required for the upgrade of infrastructure, while offering the community an opportunity to get involved and help manage environmental impacts due to development works.
Nesting boxes can retain and support existing habitat in urban areas, while offset planting establishes new habitat. Instilling the skills, knowledge and resources within the community, particularly school education programs, promotes the retention and protection of urban habitats for many generations to come.
The Department of Planning Transport and Infrastructure and their contractors, delivering important upgrades to South Australia’s infrastructure, have been working in partnership with local governments and the community for many years and have built more than 200 nesting boxes over six council areas, being the Cities of Unley, Marion, Mitcham, Holdfast Bay, Light Regional and Playford.
We would like to thank the local community and our stakeholders for your patience and support during construction. As visitors in your community, we are mindful that this is your home and we appreciate your understanding while we work to deliver the Darlington Upgrade project for the wider community. Wherever possible we undertake activities that benefit and involve our local community members.
Flinders Link
The Flinders Link Project is a joint initiative of the Australian and South Australian Governments to extend the Tonsley rail line to create new connections to our health, innovation and education precincts.
