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Overcoming obstacles through strategic construction methodology
Together with its Joint Venture Partners, SMEC was responsible for design coordination, traffic modelling, geotechnical investigations, traffic engineering, bridge and road design, drainage and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) design.
The SMEC team managed and successfully overcame many challenges, including the difficult geotechnical conditions which led to the use of unsaturated soil modelling and detailed traffic modelling in support of construction staging to ensure traffic flows at peak periods.
The interconnectivity of each section of the scheme was another challenge. At each stage, SMEC considered the impacts not only in the current stage but also future stages, as well as consider ramifications for construction methodology. SMEC’s knowledge of traffic movements on site and its understanding of minimum requirements were critical in ensuring that proposed staging plans were feasible and that any issues were detected early so that they could either be avoided or addressed.
Improved travel and connectivity
The project is part of the North-South Corridor, which is a critical route for the movement of freight and business-related passenger traffic, connecting the Port of Adelaide, Adelaide Airport, the Islington intermodal terminal and other freight terminals
The delievery of the Darlington Upgrade project resulted in the following benefits:
- Reduced travel times for long distance north-south movements through Darlington
- Reduced travel times for arterial road and local road movements
- Improved freight transport productivity in Adelaide, enhanced productivity and increased competitiveness for export industries
- Reduced traffic congestion and improved safety at this critical location and improved north-south traffic flows along the corridor
Improved connectivity for east-west traffic by reducing delays at South Road intersections.