Michael Ferguson,Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
Every death on our roads is a tragedy and the Tasmanian Government is committed to ensuring the state's roads are as safe as they can be.
The new Safer Rural Roads Program will see $10 million over the next five years go towards projects that will improve road safety and help prevent deaths on our rural roads.
The program provides local government with funding for low-cost, corridor-based infrastructure treatments to improve road safety on rural, non-State-Government-owned roads.
This initiative is part of the 'Making our Rural Roads Safer' under the Towards Zero - Tasmania Road Safety Action Plan 2020-2024.
Local government roads make up around 80 per cent of the Tasmanian public road network extending some 14,500 kilometres with around 10,700 kilometres in rural areas.
Sixty per cent of road-related fatalities in Tasmania occur in rural areas, including many on local government roads.
The 2020-21 funding round opened earlier this month, with up to $2 million available from the Road Safety Levy. Submissions close on 20 November 2020, and I encourage local government to put in proposals for funding of up to $250,000 for infrastructure upgrades to improve road safety on rural roads.
One death on our roads is one too many and we are working hard to improve road safety through our $75 million Towards Zero Action Plan, targeting Tasmania's highest risk areas to achieve the greatest possible reductions in serious injuries and deaths from road trauma.
