The completion of initial tram network extension works in Adelaide have allowed tram services between Victoria Square and the Entertainment Centre, with further works be completed next weekend.
Last weekend, tracks were installed at the intersection of Pulteney Street and North Terrace, and a complex new tram junction intersection at North Terrace and King William Street was completed, in the first stage of the project to build three new tram networks.
The project will eventually see the construction of a city loop around the CBD, a new route through Kent Town, and a new route to North Adelaide.
South Australia’s transport and infrastructure minister Stephen Mullighan said that up to 250 workers had been at the work site over a 24-hour period during the construction.
“This project is also providing a great boost for hundreds of South Australian workers and more than 40 South Australian based companies, which show the state government is proudly putting local jobs first as we keep building South Australia,” Mullighan said.
“I’d like to thank tram passengers for their patience during this critical stage of the extension project which has seen one of the most complex tram junctions in Australia constructed in a matter of weeks.”
More track will be laid at Gawler Place this coming weekend, and are scheduled to commence on Friday 26 January at 11pm. They are expected to be complete by 6am on Monday 29 January.
Other works to eventually be completed in this initial phase include overhead wire installation, the construction of tram stops, light pole installation, traffic signal modifications, and SAPN works to modify the lids of five existing high voltage SAPN pits in four stages along North Terrace, between Frome Street and Gawler Place.
“When it’s complete this $80 million extension will deliver a multi-destination tram network to Adelaide for the first time in 60 years,” Mullighan said.
“It will also deliver the first stages of our new tram networks, around the CBD to the eastern suburbs and to North Adelaide, delivering a better public transport network for everyone.”