Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study
abandoned transport scheme for the city of Adelaide
The Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study, or "MATS Plan" as it became known, was a comprehensive transport plan released in 1968 proposing a number of road and rail transport projects for the metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia.
It recommended the construction of 98 kilometres (61 miles) of freeways, 34 kilometres (21 miles) of expressway and the widening of 386 kilometres (240 miles) of existing arterial roads. It also featured new arterial roads and a new bridge over the Port River. For public transport, it proposed the closure of the Glenelg tram line, 20 rail grade separations and 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) of new railway line, including a subway under King William Street.
The estimated cost of land acquisition and construction was $436.5 million in 1968, which equates to approximately $4,580 million in 2010 with inflation. Most of the plan's recommendations were ultimately not brought to fruition in their original form due to political and public opposition, however one major part of the MATS project - the North-South Connector - closely resembles the North-South Motorway, the final parts of which are currently under construction under the T2D Project, due for completion in 2031.
History
Like other states of Australia, there was a strong movement towards private car travel following World War II in South Australia. Fuel rationing was a thing of the past and private car ownership was increasing. The car was seen as a personal liberator, and many cities around the world were building their urban forms around the needs of private cars.
Adelaide continued to expand rapidly: by 1966 its population had increased by 90% on post-war levels.
The public source identifies “Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study” as abandoned transport scheme for the city of Adelaide. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Metropolitan, Adelaide and Transport.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study”, the useful work is to connect “abandoned transport scheme for the city of Adelaide” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6824967. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1968, 2010, 2031 and 1966.
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This entry incorporates text from “Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.