Adelaide motorists have been tolerating roadworks along South Road and Main South Road for months, but the state's peak motoring body has questioned whether the pain be worth the gain.

The RAA said more work needs to be carried on the notoriously busy road before drivers can experience the full benefits.

The organisation's road safety expert took 9News for a drive through the Torrens to Torrens and Darlington projects, to see how they will affect motorists.

Many are questioning whether the delay will be worth the wait. (9news)

Travelling over a new bridge that takes cars above the southern expressway, RAA's Charles Mountain said the southern project is starting to take shape.

"This was again one of the intersections that people would be familiar with having to be stopped at. Either when you're on the Southern Expressway or Main South Road. Already that's one intersection removed from the equation," he said.

The 620 million dollar Darlington project consists of eight bridges that will bypass five sets of traffic lights, improving the traffic flow.

Once finished, it's expected to cut several minutes off travel time.

"Already we've got direct access to the South Expressway from South Road which will obviously benefit those people who use that road on a regular basis," Mr Mountain said.

9NEWS were taken on the drive to see how effective the time saving was. (9news)

The project won't be completed until the second half of 2019, but the RAA said motorists won't reap the full benefits until other stretches of South Road are upgraded, including the section from Daws Road to Castle Plaza.

"What we'll see once Darlington is opened, that this section will become even busier," he said.

"We'll continue to push for the remaining sections to be completed as soon as practical as well."

Further along South Road, the Torrens to Torrens project is nearing completion, including the three kilometre stretch of lowered road.

Roadworks are expected to continue until at least 2019. (9news)

It's expected to open before the end of the year but the State Government said it will have more to say about that timeline in the near future.

Once operational it will save commuters an average of seven and a half minutes during peak hour.

"We would expect people will start to notice significant reduction and improvement in travel time," said Mr Mountain.

The state government has allocated funding for the next stage of the project, which will see Torrens to Torrens section connected to the South Road Superway.

"We'll start to see more benefits as each of the sections are progressively completed," Mr Mountain said.
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