St Marys Pass Options Assessment

About the project

Options are being investigated to improve the Esk Main Road connection between St Marys and the Tasman Highway due to a history of slope instability and road closures.

Options include improving the existing St Marys Pass and exploring alternative route options.

Image: St Marys Pass road on a cloudy day.  The road is surrounded by green trees.

Route identification

We are investigating seven options between St Marys to the East Coast.

Two of the options explore keeping the existing Esk Main Road at St Marys Pass with ongoing maintenance, or a ten-year phased upgrade of the existing route. The other five options explore alternative routes.

Download details on each route option below.

Red Route - Upper Scamander

Orange Route - Lower German Town Road Extension

Blue Route - TasNetworks Power Line

Yellow Route - Gillies Road Extension

Green Route - Alternate Gillies Road Extension

Purple Route - Maintain Existing Route

Purple Route 2 - Maintain Existing Route plus 10 Year Upgrade

There are no easy options. All routes go through challenging, mountainous terrain with risk of landslides.

The objective of this project is to gather community feedback on the options and identify the benefits and challenges of each potential route.

Community consultation

We want to hear from you to help inform the benefits and challenges of the options. The preferred option(s) will then go through more work to develop the design and gain the relevant approvals before construction. It may be several years before construction starts.

Public consultation is open from Thursday, 5 September 2024 to Thursday, 3 October 2024.

Provide your feedback online here: https://engage.stategrowth.tas.gov.au/esk-main-road-st-marys-pass-options-assessment

To join us at a community drop-in session, please see the following times and locations:

• Friday, 6 September 2024 from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm at St Marys Town Hall.
• Saturday, 7 September 2024, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, at Portland Hall, Cecilia St, St Helens.

Funding

This project is funded by the Tasmanian Government.

Funding has not yet been identified for future project phases.

Accessibility

If you would like to find out more information and you have accessibility requirements, please contact the project team (details below).

You can find out more about Transport Services' commitment to accessibility on our website here: https://www.transport.tas.gov.au/accessibility

Contact

If you have any questions about this project, please contact our Stakeholder Engagement Specialist via email stmaryspass@stategrowth.tas.gov.au or phone on 1800 864 200.