Details have been revealed of planned work to build a new tram line in Adelaide next year, which will cause some temporary disruption in the central business district (CBD).
The work on the line at North Terrace between January 2nd and 15th will coincide with a match in cricket's Big Bash League at the nearby Adelaide Oval on January 9th and cycling's Tour Down Under on January 13th, the Adelaide Advertiser reports.
However, any temporary inconvenience will be counterbalanced by the benefits to those moving to the city or renting property in Adelaide having a better public transport network.
Explaining the timing, South Australia's Transport Department spokesman Lachlan Roberts told councillors a "substantial amount of work" will take place during this period.
He added: "The traffic demand is substantially less around the CBD. We are looking at this particular point in time to shut that intersection down to allow that rail work to go in.
"We do have to replace the rail work back down to Station Rd as well ... to achieve compliant geometry."
The new line will bring three stops on North Terrace - East End, University and Museum. The line will then turn northwards along King William Street, with another stop at Riverside.
Unlike Melbourne, which has an extensive tram system that has been expanded and modernised over the years, Adelaide tore up most of its lines decades ago. Where once there were 25 lines, the city was left with just one - the heritage line from the CBD out to Glenelg. This has been expanded since 2008, with the line now looping around the CBD instead of stopping at Victoria Square.
The expansion of the network now reflects similarly atavistic approaches to public transport in a number of other countries, such as the UK. In Britain, tram systems ran in many cities until the late 1940s but were then closed everywhere except the seaside town of Blackpool. Now, modern systems run in cities like Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Birmingham, Edinburgh and south London.
Adelaide is now following their lead, reviving the transport mode of yesteryear to give the 21st century city a major transport boost.