Construction has started on an A$11.3m ($8.4m) upgrade of the inner city ring route to ease congestion and cater for an expected increase in traffic during construction of the Torrens to Torrens (T2T) project in Adelaide, Australia.

The upgrade is expected to reduce delays for more than 70,000 drivers, who use the Torrens Road intersection every day and more than 40,000 using Park and Fitzroy terraces.

Scope of work will include construction of three lanes in each direction between Port Road and Prospect Road, with an extra citybound lane also included on Torrens Road.

"This milestone is another example of the Australian Government’s commitment to funding infrastructure upgrades in South Australia."

Australia’s Assistant Federal Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Jamie Briggs said: "These works will fix the current traffic congestion along this route and will support the A$896m ($666m) Torrens to Torrens Project, which will slash travel times for motorists, boost freight efficiency and create hundreds of new local jobs.

"This milestone is another example of the Australian Government’s commitment to funding infrastructure upgrades in South Australia to boost productivity, create jobs and grow the economy."

The project, which will support around 20 local jobs, will include the Park Terrace, Fitzroy Terrace and Torrens Road upgrade that will be carried out by South Australian firm Bardavcol.

South Australian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan said: "It is another example of the Australian and South Australian Governments working together to deliver vital road infrastructure and to boost the South Australian economy."

The upgrade works of the inner city ring route is scheduled to be completed by December.

Scheduled to be completed in late 2018, T2T will support about 480 jobs a year during its construction phase.