Brighton Bypass
Background
The Brighton Bypass is a $176 million investment in upgrading the Midland Highway to the north of Hobart, funded by the Australian Government. It will provide a bypass of the towns of Brighton and Pontville, significantly improved connections to the developing Brighton Industrial Estate and future Brighton Transport Hub, residential and retail centres in Brighton and to the historic settlement of Pontville. The bypass will provide a new dual carriageway highway between the East Derwent Highway at Bridgewater and the existing Midland Highway north of Pontville. Local Tasmanian firms VEC Civil Engineering and Hazell Bros will undertake contract work on the Bypass with contracting national partners, Thiess and John Holland respectively. Works are scheduled to be completed by December 2012. Why Build The Bypass?The Midland Highway is the State's major north-south transport corridor and a key link in Tasmania's AusLink National Network. The Highway is the major transport link for people travelling between the North and South of the State, and provides a critical freight connection supporting the region's reliance on the northern ports for freight imports and exports. The primary function of the Midland Highway is to provide safe, high-speed travel for passenger and freight vehicles. However, the southern section of the Highway (Granton to Dysart) passes through a number of towns, including Brighton (a regional service centre), Pontville and Bagdad. There is significant conflict between intrastate and local traffic. Existing connections to the proposed Brighton Transport Hub and Brighton Industrial Estate are also poor. The Brighton Bypass will provide improved connections to and support for the development of the new freight transport hub at Brighton, and will also address traffic movement, safety and amenity issues associated with a major freight route passing through the towns of Brighton and Pontville. It will also support improved access to the East Coast, including for forestry freight vehicles accessing the Triabunna woodchip mill and port via Tea Tree Road. Design FeaturesFeatures of the concept design include:
Project BenefitsThis project will provide:
Documentation |