Paving is underway on South Australia’s first major concrete road as part of the Northern Connector project.

The A$885m ($637.28m) project includes the construction of a new six-lane 15.5km road to the west of Port Wakefield Road.

It will connect the Northern Expressway and Port River Expressway to the South Road Superway and Salisbury Highway Connector.

Once operational, the Northern Connector will boost freight access to Port Adelaide and industrial roads in the north and north-west of Adelaide. It will also slash travel times and improve safety for freight and commuter traffic.

The project is expected to support an uninterrupted 43km route between Gawler and Regency Park, connecting the Northern Expressway to the northern end of the South Road Superway.

“This will be South Australia’s first major concrete road, offering increased durability and the best value for money when it comes to maintenance.”

South Australia premier Steven Marshall said South Australian jobs were the state government’s priority, with at least 480 jobs being supported during the project.

“The choice to use concrete will create an extra 40 jobs, including batch plant workers, truck drivers and paving plant operators, contributing an estimated additional $11m to local industry.”

South Australia Minister for Transport Stephan Knoll said that around 13km of the 15.5km Northern Connector alignment would be constructed using concrete, excluding the four interchanges, which will be asphalt.

Knoll said: “This will be South Australia’s first major concrete road, offering increased durability and the best value for money when it comes to maintenance, with a saving of approximately 42% in comparison to asphalt.”

The project is jointly funded by the Australian and South Australian governments, which are contributing A$708m ($510m) and A$177m ($127.5m) respectively.