Jeremy Rockliff,Minister for Infrastructure
This year's State Budget is about maintaining the momentum in Tasmania and investing for growth and provides more than $323 million in new road projects, upgrades and maintenance across the state in 2019-20 alone.
Our record investment across the Forward Estimates supports the creation of 10,000 jobs, with infrastructure projects representing a considerable opportunity for economic and jobs growth for Tasmania.
New projects to get underway in this coming financial year include:
- Midland Highway Spring Hill and Melton Mowbray to Lovely Banks upgrades
- Hobart Airport flyover Interchange upgrade
- Arthur Highway overtaking lanes east of Sorell
- Huon Highway/Sandfly intersection safety works
- Sheas Creek Bridge replacement
- Bruny Island Main Road sealing between Alonnah and Lunawanna
- Richmond Road new Cambridge link road and the upgrade of three additional sections
- West Tamar Highway Traffic Solution first projects
- Strengthening of eight bridges through continuation of the Freight Access Bridge Upgrade Program
- East Tamar Highway new roundabout at the Mowbray Connector
- Great Eastern Drive passing lanes, junction upgrades and safety works
- Esk Main Road shoulder sealing and works east of Fingal and west of St Marys, and
- Bass Highway safer junctions at Boat Harbour school and Rocky Cape
- West Coast roads package
- East Tamar Highway intersection upgrades at Goderich Street and Gleadow Street.
This State Budget continues the strong investment in the transformation of our key North-South corridor through our $500 million Midland Highway 10 Year Action Plan.
Since launching in 2015, our Action Plan has delivered twelve upgrade projects along the Highway. Four others are currently underway including the $92.3 million Perth Links Roads project, the biggest road project in the North in decades, which when complete will deliver a bypass around Perth and a four lane connection between south of Perth and Launceston.
By August this year, we expect that 91 kilometres of 62 per cent of the Action Plan works will either be completed, or under construction.
We will continue the program of Roads of Strategic Importance in partnership with the Morrison Liberal Government, with almost $231 million over the forward estimates towards:
- Tasman Highway - Hobart to Sorell
- Bass Highway - Wynyard to Marrawah, and
- North-West freight roads like the Murchison Highway
This year $8 million will be provided, with $294 million over the Forward Estimates, to progress the vital planning and approvals work in order to deliver a new $576 million Bridgewater Bridge by 2024.
And together with the Morrison Government, we are tackling city traffic through our Urban Congestion Fund, with $24.2 million of funding in 2019-20 for congestion busting projects including the Hobart Congestion Package, activating the Northern Suburbs Transit Corridor and Tasman Highway Intelligent Transport Solutions.
We are investing in building the infrastructure that will benefit Tasmanians for generations, to provide better access to jobs and to support our productive industries and regional communities.
Drone footage of the Perth Links Road project is available here: https://files.stategrowth.tas.gov.au/index.php/s/XxTx40xpXtTQuCR
