GAWLER motorists will have to wait an extra three months to travel along the $885 million Northern Connector project, with the opening of the road officially delayed.
The road was originally touted to be opened before the end of the year to alleviate stress on Port Wakefield Road for the Christmas holidays.
Instead, the public will get its first glimpse of the road during a community day on February 9, before it opens to traffic between late February and early March.
The delays have been blamed on soil built up across wetland areas to support bridges, roads and new ramps took longer to settle than anticipated.
In a press conference on Friday, transport minister Stephan Knoll said terrain the road was built over presented challenges to engineers.
“This has been a difficult engineering project, building Adelaide’s first major concrete road over some tough terrain,” he said.
“Building a road over a swamp isn’t easy, but we do it because we know it’s going to save over 10 minutes per journey for motorists.
“We’ve got to make sure we do this job properly. When you’re building a road over a swamp you’ve got to get the job done right so that motorists can save, from day one, that 10 minutes per day journey.”
Works still to be completed include the installation of low-noise diamond grooving of the road, asphalting, ITS cable installation and line marking.
The Northern Connector is expected to save drivers commuting between the city and Gawler 10 minutes each way by bypassing Port Wakefield Road and the Salisbury Highway.
It will connect the Northern Expressway, which runs from Waterloo Corner to Gawler, to the South Road Superway, providing a non-stop route to Croydon Park.
According to the State Government, at least 50 per cent of all jobs for the project were filled by northern suburbs residents, with 90 per cent of on-site labour jobs performed by South Australians.
The 150,000 cubic metres of concrete pavement used for the road was also sourced locally.
“We have built a pipeline of productive road infrastructure projects that will improve economic productivity, build a better freight network and underpin thousands of jobs,” Mr Knoll said.
“Once the Northern Connector opens to traffic, long gone will be the days of motorists being stuck in traffic on Port Wakefield Road between the South Road Superway and the Northern Expressway.
“It will help unlock access to South Australia’s northern regions, from Gawler and the Barossa and beyond.”