08 Mar, 2018

Work to Begin on Gawler Place Upgrade

The upgrade of Gawler Place is moving another step closer with the City of Adelaide about to embark on pre-construction work.

The Gawler Place upgrade from North Terrace through to Grenfell Street will create a high-quality street connecting to Adelaide’s premier shopping destination, Rundle Mall.

It will become a shared use environment for people walking, cycling and driving, with wider and better quality footpaths, improved lighting and increased bicycle parking.

There will also be spaces for events and performances, as well as seating and outdoor dining areas for meeting friends and family, having lunch or simply a pleasant place to sit and enjoy the city.

Greening elements including mature trees, understory planting and climbers will ensure Gawler Place is an attractive and inviting place to be, with smart elements including charging points, bins and feature lighting.

Vehicle access, on-street accessible parking and loading spaces for deliveries to the street and Rundle Mall will be maintained.

Lord Mayor of Adelaide Martin Haese said that he was pleased to see work starting on the project.

“Gawler Place is one of the city’s busiest streets, with more than 16,000 people using the southern section and more than 9,500 using the northern section each day.

“It provides a key link from Grenfell Street to Rundle Mall, and will be an important link to the new tram extension and stop on North Terrace, which will bring large numbers of additional pedestrians to the area.

“It is also the main link to the cultural precinct, universities and the Riverbank Precinct including the Anzac Memorial Walk.

“The Gawler Place upgrade will create an attractive, safe and welcoming pedestrian-friendly extension of Rundle Mall.

“It will also support business growth and investment. Widened footpaths will create a high-quality space for retail, shopping and activity, and shade and plants will encourage outdoor dining."

The tender process to appoint a contractor is currently being finalised, with major construction work due to start soon.

In the meantime, pre-construction activities will begin, including utility services and ground investigations at select locations in Gawler Place.

This is an important step for the commencement of any construction project as it provides detailed information which will enable the project to progress quickly and with as little disruption as possible.

The pre-construction work will start the week beginning 19 March 2018 and will run for a month.

The work includes:

• Detailed utility service investigations
• Property condition assessments to record the condition of the interior and exterior of buildings
• Further investigations to help better understand the condition of the ground.

To minimise impacts on traffic and access during day-time business hours, much of this work will be done after hours (evening through to early morning).

Speed and lane restrictions will be in place, along with some restrictions to existing loading zones, taxi zones and accessible bays.

Every effort will be made to minimise the impact of the work and to ensure that access to properties is maintained.

The final design of the upgrade can be viewed at www.yourfutureadelaide.com.au

Paula Stevens