JUBILANT transport officials have reopened Main South Rd well ahead of schedule, after a huge bridge was manoeuvred into place in a mammoth weekend operation.

It passes over the Southern Expressway, between Flinders Drv and Flagstaff Rd, as part of the Darlington upgrade project.

The road was due to remain closed until 6am Monday, however officials were able to reopen the important route late Sunday morning following the successful installation of the bridge. “Work to install the 3000 tonne, 180me long bridge as part of the Darlington Upgrade Project has been completed well ahead of schedule. Main South Rd and the Southern Expressway are now open to traffic,” Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure officials posted on social media shortly before noon.

The Darlington Upgrade Project is part of the delivery of Adelaide’s North-South Corridor and will deliver an upgrade of approximately 3.3km of the existing Main South Road.

Eight bridges are being constructed in the project including two on Main South Rd over the Southern Expressway to carry northbound traffic from Main South Rd to the new lowered motorway and surface road.

Darlington Upgrade - November 2017 Darlington Upgrade - November 2017

Another closure to install the second bridge will occur at a date to be announced in 2018.

The $620 million Darlington Upgrade Project is jointly funded by the federal and state governments — $496 million federally and $124 million from the state. It is due to be completed in 2019.