The Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study, or "MATS Plan" as it became known, was a comprehensive transport plan released in 1968 proposing a number of road and rail transport projects for the metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia.
It recommended the construction of of freeways, of expressway and the widening of of existing arterial roads. It also featured new arterial roads and a new bridge over the Port River. For public transport, it proposed the closure of the Glenelg tram line, 20 rail grade separations and of new railway line, including a subway under King William Street.
The estimated cost of land acquisition and construction was $436.5 million in 1968, which equates to approximately $4,580 million in 2010 with inflation.Inflation calculator Reserve Bank of Australia Most of the plan's recommendations were ultimately not brought to fruition in their original form due to political and public opposition, however one major part of the MATS project - the North-South Connector - closely resembles the North-South Motorway, the final parts of which are currently under construction under the T2D Project, due for completion in 2031.
History Like other states of Australia, there was a strong movement towards private car travel following World War II in South Australia. Fuel rationing was a thing of the past and private car ownership was increasing.Radcliff p. 126 The car was seen as a personal liberator, and many cities around the world were building their urban forms around the needs of private cars.
Adelaide continued to expand rapidly: by 1966 its population had increased by 90% on post-war levels. Experts had been warning of the consequences of unplanned urban sprawl leading to a renewed interest in planning. In 1955 the Town Planning Act was amended to require a coordinated plan for the city's future development.
The Report of Metropolitan Adelaide was released in 1962 and featured proposals for the construction of freeways. In 1964 the state Liberal and Country League Premier Thomas Playford announced the commencement of a comprehensive infrastructure planning study for the future of Adelaide's transport needs. This report, titled the Metropolitan Adelaide Transportation Study (MATS), was released in August 1968 together with an announcement that six months would be allowed for public comment before commencement of work.
Recommended freeways North–South Freeway
The North–South Freeway was one of the most important parts of the plan, allowing travel north and south of Adelaide. The Report on the Metropolitan Area of Adelaide predicted that the city would eventually stretch more than 70 km, from Elizabeth in the north to Sellicks Beach in the south by the 1980s.
Travel from Salisbury to Noarlunga was estimated to take approximately 30 minutes. The freeway consisted of two sections: the Noarlunga Freeway and the Salisbury Freeway. The Noarlunga freeway would serve the rapidly growing residential, industrial and recreational to the south connecting to major highways to Victor Harbor and Yankalilla.
Starting at Old Noarlunga, it was to follow a path adjacent to Main South Road (this has since been completed and is known as the Southern Expressway), then continuing north on a path roughly parallel to South Road then land near the west parkland with off ramps to the CBD, until joining the North Adelaide Connector. An interchange north of the Anzac Highway would connect it to the proposed Glenelg Expressway that would have replaced the Glenelg tram line.
The Salisbury Freeway was the six-lane continuation of the Noarlunga Freeway starting at the Hindmarsh Interchange then roughly followed the west of the Gawler railway line through Wingfield and north to Edinburgh. The Noarlunga Freeway was proposed to be eight lanes, cost $34 million in land acquisition, $58 million in construction and carry 93,000 cars on an average weekday by 1986.
Main North Road comparably carries approximately 50,000 - 70,000 cars on average in 2024. The Mitchell and Kwinana Freeways in Perth forming a north–south freeway present a comparable example to the proposed North-South Freeway in Adelaide.
Port Freeway This was to be a freeway constructed in the wide median strip of Port Road that had been left in earlier years for a possible canal leading from Port Adelaide to the Adelaide city centre. It was to go from the Hindmarsh Interchange to the Old Port Road intersection. It would feature pedestrian overpasses but was still criticised for blocking communications across Port Road.Thomas Wilson, p117 Following Port Road, Commercial Road was to continue over a new bridge over the Port River connecting to Victoria Road making a continuous arterial road.
Hindmarsh Interchange The largest construction project in the plan. The intersection of the Port Freeway, North-South Freeway and North Adelaide Connector would have required a four-level spaghetti interchange with many flyovers that would have almost engulfed the suburb of Hindmarsh. Pictures of similar sized interchanges in Los Angeles were used to good effect by opponents of MATS. There were four different designs proposed including one that was to be sited in the parklands, reducing the need for land acquisition.
North Adelaide Connector This was to connect the western and eastern sides of the city starting from the Hindmarsh Interchange and connecting to the Modbury Freeway. It would have been constructed through parkland and travel partially underground to reduce the loss of open space.
Arterial road projects have since taken place in the area, particularly on roads lining the parklands including Park Terrace, Fitzroy Terrace and Park Road. Overpasses were constructed to carry Park Terrace over the Gawler railway line in 1990 and the Outer Harbor railway line in 2017.
The Hawker Street tram bridge over the Gawler railway line was demolished in the 1970s due to lack of maintenance and safety concerns. An overpass over the Gawler railway line at Torrens Road was proposed but a report on the Torrens Road upgrade in 2005 stated grade separation was no longer a priority.Torrens Road Upgrade Final Report accessed 1 February 2008 A Torrens Road bridge over the Gawler railway line was constructed in 2021–2022 and allowed traffic from 18 June 2022, eliminating the level crossing.
Hills Freeway
This was proposed to be a connection between the new South Eastern Freeway (then under construction from Crafers, leaving the winding old road down to the plains) and the CBD. It would have cut a swathe through College Park, St Peters, Norwood, Rose Park, Myrtle Bank and Urrbrae before leaving the city at Belair Road. Many of Adelaide's most affluent suburbs would have been broken up. This proved to be the most controversial part of the entire MATS plan. It was dropped from subsequent proposals but served to turn public opinion against the rest of the project.
Foothills Expressway A proposed link between the North-South Freeway at Darlington (approximately the point where South Road meets Sturt Road) travelling in a north-east direction to meet up with the Hills Freeway at Belair Road. The expressway was scrapped from subsequent proposals with the Hills Freeway.
Modbury Freeway Starting at the North Adelaide Connector, this would have followed the River Torrens (the O-Bahn Busway was later constructed in this corridor instead). At approximately 1 km from the O-Bahn's current terminus in Modbury, it would have then turned further north along what is now McIntyre Road through Golden Grove.
An express bus service along the freeway giving a similar service to the current O-Bahn was proposed. The freeway would have required the relocation of the River Torrens in various sections.
Dry Creek Expressway Starting at Port Adelaide, this would have been an east–west connector running roughly parallel to and slightly north of Grand Junction Road and terminating at the Modbury Freeway. The section west of Main North Road has been completed since as the Port River Expressway. However it has not been extended eastward, the original corridor now utilised as Montague Road.
+ Attributes Noarlunga Freeway Hindmarsh Interchange North Adelaide Connector Port Freeway Salisbury Freeway Hills Freeway Modbury Freeway Cost, land acquisition34,000,00016,700,0005,700,000100,0009,800,00020,000,0007,400,000 Cost, construction58,000,00013,000,00011,500,00015,100,00014,000,00032,000,00042,500,000 Cost, total92,000,00029,700,00017,200,00015,200,00023,800,00052,000,00049,900,000 Estimated cars weekday, 198693,000N/A62,00068,00062,00058,50079,000 Length, kilometres34.42.63.23.312.72.921.2 Lanes8N/A66668
Public transport changes There were various changes to public transport proposed. While the report stated that it was important in directing and shaping urban growth and improving the Adelaide city centre, only 14 kilometres of new railway was proposed compared to 131 kilometres of freeway. The only remaining part of the Adelaide tram network, the Glenelg tram, was also to be removed in favour of an expressway.
Train The existing rail system was to be turned into a rapid rail network which would be aimed at providing efficient long distance, high speed suburban transport. Many railway stations were to be rationalised and some would be relocated to link to main roads. Closure of some stations allowed higher running speeds of trains and reduced running and maintenance costs.
Locating stations closer to main roads made them more accessible and visible. Railway stations would be supported by feeder bus services thereby increasing their serviceable range. Competing bus services were to be removed. A distance of 3.2 kilometres between railway stations was said to be optimal.
The Noarlunga rail line, which then only went as far as Hallett Cove, was to be extended to Christie Downs.
King William Street subway The most significant proposed public transport project was an underground railway beneath the city to bring rail to the core of the CBD. It was to link the main north–south Gawler and Noarlunga lines with a new arrangement of through-stations. This would have eliminated the limitations in service-frequency in railways with a central terminus. After skirting underground to the north of the Adelaide railway station, the subway was to proceed under the central King William Street and serve it with three stations, before returning to the surface just south of Greenhill Road where it is crossed by the current Glenelg tram line. The envisioned closure of the latter would have allowed its corridor to be used by the new railway instead, until Glandore, although options to accommodate four tracks and both services in this section of corridor could have existed. From Glandore, the new railway would have rejoined the existing Noarlunga Line at Edwardstown via an approximately 1,200m-long new railway corridor running parallel to South Road and about 200m to its west.
Apart from the direct public transport benefits, it was said the subway would also lead to increased land values and encourage development at the southern end of the city. The Toronto Yonge Street subway was used as an example. Furthermore, the heritage Adelaide railway station and much of the Adelaide rail yards would have become available for value capture property development.
The subway was estimated to cost $32 million. Construction costs were to be reduced by using a cut and cover construction technique involving the temporary removal of King William Street.
Tram The report recommended the closure of the Glenelg tram line and its replacement with the Glenelg Expressway. The report stated that significant investment would be required to integrate the tram line with the proposed new rapid transit rail system and to construct grade separations along existing roads. Based on those assumptions, it recommended that the continued operation of the tram would not be cost-effective.