Michael Ferguson,Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
With $827 million in roads and bridges work over the next two years, the Tasmanian Liberal Government is ensuring our civil construction and engineering sectors have the work and confidence they need to grow their businesses.
It is critically important the Government maintains this steady and strong pipeline of construction work, with our roads and bridges program central to this.
This is just one part of our $1.8 billion infrastructure blitz over two years, which will generate an estimated $3.1 billion in construction and support around 15,000 jobs.
A number of tenders have recently closed, and are expected to be awarded soon for construction this spring and summer. These include the two contracts for the final sections in our Midland Highway Action Plan, the third tranche of upgrades on the Great Eastern Drive, and the tender for the upgrade of the Midway Point intersection.
We also have a range of tenders currently open for bids, including:
- Our election commitment for shoulder sealing works on the Batman Highway;
- Our $10 million COVID-19 commitment to bring forward the replacement of the Apsley River bridge on the Tasman Highway;
- The first package of works from our election commitment to upgrade the Bass Highway, west of Wynyard;
- Bridge upgrades on the Murchison Highway;
- Our election commitment to build a new overtaking lane between Diana's Basin and St Helens Point Road, on the Great Eastern Drive;
- The realignment of the Bass Highway between Somerset and Wynyard; and
- The demolition of the Old Scamander bridge and provision of pedestrian access improvements.
While Rebecca White and Labor are busy churning out misleading media releases talking down our local industry and Tasmania's economy, we are getting on with the job of delivering job-creating infrastructure across the state.
No amount of negative spin from Labor's Prophets of Doom will change the fact that the Tasmanian Liberal Government is spending on average nearly $100 million more per year than the former Labor-Green government.
By investing in infrastructure, we are investing in Tasmanian jobs.
