13 September 2013
The $4 million transformation of the western end of Hindley Street that will renew and refresh the street between Liverpool and Register Streets is about to begin.
Announced in 2012 and funded with $1 million from the Commonwealth Government under the Liveable Cities Program, and a further $1 million each from the State Government, Adelaide City Council and the University of South Australia, the project kicks off on September 23.
Key elements of the plan include an upgrade of the major crossing between UniSA’s campus buildings on either side of Hindley Street, wider footpaths, granite stone paving, mature street trees, garden beds, lighting, and street furniture, with the goal of creating an attractive, pedestrian-focused place for students and the public.
University of South Australia Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says when it is complete, the redevelopment will deliver one of the most welcoming and attractive streetscapes in the CBD.
“The whole west end precinct is undergoing a massive transformation with the construction of the Royal Adelaide Hospital, the SA Health and Medical Research Institute, our own student learning centre, the Jeffrey Smart Building, and future projects such as the Centre for Cancer Biology building,” Prof Lloyd said.
“This end of the city is going to have increasing numbers of students, workers and visitors who will be here every day so it is vital that the streetscapes are welcoming and more sympathetic to social interaction.
“The design consultants, Hassell, have just won an award for the planning and design process for this project so it will be exciting to see their vision made real.”
Minister for Planning John Rau says government support for the project reflects a strong commitment to the development of Adelaide as a more liveable and vibrant city.
“This project will be a great blueprint for another way of living in the city where pedestrians, bicycles and cars can coexist safely in a streetscape that is cleaner and greener and altogether more enjoyable,” Minister Rau says.
“Our support of the west end project in partnership with federal and local governments and UniSA is also a great example of how much we value strong community partnerships that transform and showcase urban renewal.”
Welcoming the start of the project, Adelaide City Councillor Houssam Abiad says this reshaping of Hindley Street will be an important contributor to Council’s master plan for the western precinct of the city.
“We want to see the West End thriving during the day, with more retail opportunities and economic development. The renewal of the western end of Hindley Street is the first step in rejuvenating this end of town and will open up opportunities for entrepreneurs to try out some new businesses ideas,” Councillor Abiad says.
Project manager, UniSA’s John LeRay, says the extensive redevelopment has presented an infrastructure bonus in allowing underground services including water and gas to be checked, upgraded and rerouted where necessary.
“There has been such a strong spirit of collaboration, in part because we have invested a great deal of time in consulting with the community, the traders and businesses, and local residents,” LeRay says.
“We’ll be doing the work as quickly as possible to minimise disruptions and we will continue to communicate the progress throughout the project.”
On September 23, work will begin on transforming the western end of Hindley Street and there will be some changes to traffic conditions during the construction.
Hindley Street will temporarily become one-way east-bound between Clarendon and Register streets with a 40 km/h speed limit during the work.
Local traffic will be able to access Hindley Street as far as the works location. There will be no parking (including for commercial vehicles) in the one-way section.
The east-bound cycle lane will remain in place during the works. However, west-bound cyclists will need to find an alternative route to bypass the works.
The 99C free City Loop bus service has been redirected with new pick up and drop off locations in Currie Street.
In addition, the right-turn on the south-bound lane in Morphett Street will not be available during the works.
Details of the Hindley Street redevelopment project are available here.
Construction contractors for the project are Fulton Hogan.
More details about temporary traffic conditions in Hindley Street from the week beginning mid- September are available here.
Media contact: Michèle Nardelli office: 08 8302 0966 mobile: 0418 823 673 email: Michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
