Adelaide's main arterial route, South Road, has been reopened to traffic, five days after a damaged tram overpass forced the closure of a 1.6-kilometre section in Adelaide's inner south-west.

The route is used by up to 45,000 drivers a day and its closure created major traffic disruptions and delays for freight and vehicles.

Temporary works to shore up the tram overpass were completed Saturday night.

The 1.6-kilometre section between Anzac Highway and Cross Road was closed on Wednesday morning after a cycling and pedestrian path on the overpass was found to have shifted off its bearings and debris fell onto the pavement below.

SA Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan said works would begin on finding the cause behind the damage and engineering a long-term solution.

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"It's most likely at some stage down the track, perhaps in several weeks or a month's time, we'll need to have a short-term closure of South Road so we can get that long-term fix in," he said.

"But exactly what that long-term fix is, we don't know yet, until we can get to the bottom of what caused this problem."

A Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure spokesperson said crews worked through the weekend to secure the bikeway.

"Adelaide Metro tram services are operating as normal and will resume servicing Stop 6, South Road," he said.

"However, the Mike Turtur Bikeway will remain closed."

Mr Mullighan said measures were in place to help cyclists and pedestrians navigate South Road, including a traffic management company on site until at least Monday.

The Mike Turtur Bikeway on the overpass remains closed. ( ABC News: Candice Prosser )

Residents 'assaulted by traffic' criticise management

But residents on surrounding streets said they wanted better management put in place ahead of the planned closures to prevent a repeat of "horrific" conditions outside their front doors.

Traffic across Adelaide's south-west, including on Goodwood Road, was heavily delayed. ( ABC News: Malcolm Sutton )

Forestville resident Susie Fraser said her narrow street became gridlocked with cars, trucks and buses as drivers tried to negotiate around the closure.

"We've been unable to sleep in our front room," she said.

"The traffic has been totally gridlocked and it's impossible to get out of one's drive."

She said neighbours would help one another by physically walking out onto the road and asking drivers to stop so that their own cars could depart.

"You live close to the city and you expect traffic but you don't expect one road to be sacrificed in that way where you can't sleep and your windows shake," Ms Fraser said.

Nearby resident Cathy Heptinstall said tempers flared on her street at times, with one truck knocking down a tree branch.

"There didn't seem to be any pre-planning as to what to do in the case of an emergency of this sort," she said.

"We like to ssee, in the long term, for any further closures, that DPTI and the council have a chance to get together and plan [traffic diversions]."

City of Unley Mayor Lachlan Clyne said residents had accepted cars needed to find alternative routes but did not accept the lack of "adequate traffic management" in this instance.

"This council, and this community, are prepared to make sure that when South Road is closed again, we don't see the attitudes, the driver behaviour and what occurred over the last few days, occurring again," he said.

"It was a dangerous situation because this was a narrow residential street."

Mr Mullighan said the works would be performed during the lowest traffic periods of the week, whether it be on the weekend, or night works, or a combination of both.