The Bass Highway, a major freight link for transport operators in Tasmania, will see $2 billion worth of upgrades completed over the next four years.
The Tasmanian Government today released a strategy to improve safety and travel time between Launceston and Devonport.
The Bass Highway Corridor Strategy – Launceston to Devonport identified 66 potential improvements for the 91-kilometre section of the highway from Hadspen to east of Port Sorell Road in Devonport.
These include upgrading intersections to improve safety at Christmas Hills Road, Oppenheims Road and Cutting Road/East Sassafras Road, and the extension and creation of overtaking lanes at Parramatta Creek and Sassafras.
Other high priority works identified include the creation of heavy vehicle rest areas, widening shoulders, installing safety barriers and improving road conditions at various points.
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Michael Ferguson, said the next step will be to develop detailed designs and to construct the prioritised projects with the available funding.
“The strategy follows an extensive consultation period with key stakeholders and the local community, with the feedback received used to help determine what needs to be done and the priority,” he said.
“In addition to community input, the strategy has also looked at current and future demand and the highway’s safety performance.”
The upgrades, Ferguson said, are part of the State Government’s investment in state roads and bridges.
“The Australian and Tasmanian Governments have jointly committed a total of $50 million in targeted upgrades between Deloraine and Devonport, $100 million in Safety and Freight Efficiency Upgrades between Launceston and Devonport, and $420 million for the Northern Roads Package Stage 2, which in part will fund improvements between Launceston and Devonport,” he said.
“This complements the $150 million in joint Australian and Tasmanian Government funding that is currently being delivered to improve the Cooee to Wynyard and Wynyard to Marrawah sections of the highway.”
Earlier this month, two significant upgrades to key areas of the Bass Highway were completed in Tasmania’s north-west.
In other news, 24-tonne loading is now allowed under the Higher Mass Limits Scheme in Queensland.
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