Without any fuss or ceremony, Adelaides newest railway line went into commercial operation on December 29 2020, along with two new stations. The long-awaited and much-promised 650 m extension of the Tonsley Line to Flinders University and the Flinders Medical Centre has finally been delivered, linking these busy health, innovation and education precincts to the city's suburban rail network after more than 50 years. The A$141m Flinders Link Project has been delivered as part of the much larger A$754.5m Darlington Upgrade Project, for which the federal government is contributing A$603.6m and South Australia the rest. As part of a new north-south motorway corridor, Laing O'Rourke is rebuilding 3.3 km of the Main South Road, which separates the Flinders campus from the Tonsley area, in order to grade-separate through traffic from the local roads; this work was due to be completed by mid-2020. The railway extension required the construction of 440 m of elevated viaduct to carry the single track over Sturt Road, the Laffers Triangle and Main South Road, as well as the new M2 South Expressway. The 10-span steel and concrete viaduct has individual spans ranging from 30 m to 50 m. A shared pedestrian and cycle path runs adjacent to the line, encouraging more active travel.
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