Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study

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. Very few of the plan's recommendations were ultimately brought to fruition in their original form due to political and public opposition.

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. Experts had been warning of the consequences of unplanned urban sprawl leading to a renewed interest in planning. In 1955 the Town Planning Act was amended to require a coordinated plan for the city's future development.

The Report of Metropolitan Adelaide was released in 1962 and featured proposals for the construction of freeways. In 1964 the state Liberal and Country League Premier Thomas Playford announced the commencement of a comprehensive infrastructure planning study for the future of Adelaide's transport needs. This report, titled the Metropolitan Adelaide Transportation Study (MATS), was released in August 1968 together with an announcement that six months would be allowed for public comment before commencement of work.^{[citation needed]}

The North–South Freeway was one of the most important parts of the plan, allowing travel north and south of Adelaide. The Report on the Metropolitan Area of Adelaide predicted that the city would eventually stretch more than 70 km, from Elizabeth in the north to Sellicks Beach in the south by the 1980s.

Travel from Salisbury to Noarlunga was estimated to take approximately 30 minutes. The freeway consisted of two sections: the Noarlunga Freeway and the Salisbury Freeway. The Noarlunga freeway would serve the rapidly growing residential, industrial and recreational to the south connecting to major highways to Victor Harbor and Yankalilla.