Urban design
The T2D Project is building more than a non-stop South Road - we’re creating greener, better-connected communities.
On major infrastructure projects, good urban design helps create a lasting, positive legacy for communities by shaping great places for people to connect. It’s about how the Project looks, feels and fits within the local environment.
Our urban design will reflect five core principles and objectives
Creating new and improved connections as part of an integrated transport system that seamlessly connects into existing networks.
How we'll bring these principles to life:
Making crossings safer and easier, including east-west connections across South Road and other key locations.
Improving links to important destinations like schools, shops and community facilities.
Designing better connections to existing transport networks to support all road users.
Providing positive journey experiences that are safe, efficient, comfortable, easy to navigate and enjoyable for everyone.
How we'll bring these principles to life:
Creating a consistent design that connects seamlessly with completed parts of the North-South Corridor.
Making it easy to find your way around, with clear landmarks and points of interest.
Adding comfort and safety features like shade, seating, and lighting for people walking or cycling to key destinations.
Creating cooler, greener and more resilient landscapes through green infrastructure, water and biodiversity sensitive urban design and enhancements to existing natural systems.
How we'll bring these principles to life:
Planting long-lasting native species to boost greenery and support local biodiversity.
Designing with water in mind, so stormwater is cleaner before it reaches local waterways.
Using durable, high-quality materials that look good over time, need little upkeep, and help prevent graffiti.
Connecting to existing infrastructure and enabling new economic, social and environmental opportunities for local businesses, surrounding communities and visitors.
How we'll bring these principles to life:
Creating new green spaces linked by walking and cycling paths, with room for both relaxation and activity.
Encouraging renewal in nearby suburbs by improving access and overall amenity.
Supporting local places and businesses by taking traffic off local roads and creating more attractive streets.
Respecting and celebrating the important heritage of the Kaurna peoples and drawing on local character and history to acknowledge the past and design for the future.
How we'll bring these principles to life:
Celebrating and recognising Kaurna culture with dual naming of places and new infrastructure.
Using local plants and natural elements like earth and water in designs that reflect the seasons.
Celebrating diverse community contributions seen in historic buildings, places and neighbourhoods.
We will work with the Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation and local Aboriginal stakeholders to integrate cultural expression into the urban design to reflect the Kaurna Peoples’ enduring and continuing connection to the lands on which the T2D Project will be constructed.
Shaping Adelaide together
We’re creating new useable open spaces along the motorway for people to connect, relax and enjoy. These spaces will provide opportunities for both play and sport – from playgrounds and grassed areas to courts and informal recreation spaces.
We welcome your feedback on the draft designs for 10 key open spaces. They’ve been shaped by the ideas and input we’ve already received from the community and key stakeholders throughout the Project.
Visit our urban design journey page to learn more and share your thoughts on as many of the spaces as you like – whether that’s one, all of them, or any number of the spaces that interest you.
These designs are still drafts and will need final agreement from local Councils before they’re confirmed. Your feedback will help us finalise how these spaces look, feel and are enjoyed by the community.
We want to hear from you
We’re inviting the community to help shape the designs of the new and revitalised open spaces along the T2D Project alignment.
Benefits of good urban design
The T2D Project’s urban design will enhance both the new motorway and the communities along it. We’re creating opportunities for urban renewal with upgraded walking and cycling paths, green spaces and recreational areas.
Most importantly, the Project will complete the North-South Corridor, delivering a 78km non-stop South Road between Gawler and Old Noarlunga.
Connectivity
We’re building five shared use bridges, and new and upgraded paths to improve walking, cycling and access to public transport.
Communities will also benefit from new open spaces, playgrounds and sporting facilities.
Heritage
The design will protect key cultural and heritage sites, like Thebarton Theatre and Queen of Angels Church, while reflecting the rich heritage of local communities.
This ensures that the area's unique character is preserved, even as the city grows and evolves.
Walking and cycling
We’re creating more than 22km of new and upgraded paths for people walking and cycling along the corridor. These paths will be shaded by new tree canopy and include plenty of places to stop and rest.
By giving cyclists the option to ride away from traffic, we’re also making journeys safer.
Green spaces
We will increase tree canopy cover by 20%, deliver 26 hectares of new open space and strengthen local biodiversity and habitats.
We will plant 2000+ trees and 500,000 shrubs with at least half being native species.
Roll plots
A roll plot is a detailed diagram that displays the design and layout of a project form an aerial view. Download the role plots below to view the urban design concepts for the surface level changes to South Road including:
project boundary line, indicating the extent of T2D surface works (there is no physical boundary)
new South Road surface roads and central motorway
tunnel entry and exit portals, maintenance and operations facilities
cyclist, pedestrian and shared use pathways and overpasses
bus stops
proposed noise walls
proposed restrooms, green spaces.
The roll plots have been updated to reflect changes to the design that have been made since the Alliance was formed in 2024.
Some aspects of the design, such as the exact location and height of noise walls in many locations, are still to be finalised.
As the Project's design advances, we'll come back to the community in 2026 with more details about our urban design concepts and elements that will be alongside the T2D motorway.