The corridor strategy has been developed to identify improvement opportunities to improve safety, productivity and efficiency on this key freight network, providing better connections between agricultural regions and ports, major tourism destinations and other transport hubs and better access for forestry, mining, and other sectors.
The East Tamar Highway (including Bell Bay Main Road) is an important freight, tourist and local route. The highway is the key connection for heavy vehicles accessing Bell Bay, the state’s third largest port, and the state’s largest freight-generating industrial centre.
The corridor strategy provides an assessment of the East Tamar Highway and its ability to meet the current and projected future needs of the region. It considers a range of factors including safety, traffic volumes, vehicle types, and economic and residential growth. Based on the findings from these assessments, the strategy identifies locations where sections of the highway could be improved for the existing and future road use between George Town and Launceston.
To achieve the long-term vision for the East Tamar Highway, five types of improvement projects were identified to address the key challenges associated with the corridor:
Click here to view the East Tamar Highway Corridor Strategy (PDF 16.5 MB).
Based on the priorities identified in the corridor strategy, an initial package of works will be put together for design and delivery with the available funding.
Additional information, including design information, on the initial package of works will be made available later this year, once a design consultant is in place to develop projects. As part of the process, there will be an opportunity for the public to review and provide feedback on the identified projects.
The Tasmanian Government has committed $20 million to fund improvements identified in the East Tamar Highway Corridor Strategy, including extra overtaking lanes, road-widening, intersection improvements, and duplicating sections of the highway to two lanes in each direction.
In addition, the Australian Government has committed $80 million in matching funds to improve the East Tamar Highway, as part of its overarching Tasmanian Roads Corridor program.
Community consultation on the East Tamar Highway Corridor Strategy closed on Monday, 7 November 2022
You can view the feedback we received on our online interactive map.
View the Consultation and Feedback Summary (PDF 1.2 MB).
The feedback from this consultation helped inform the development of the corridor strategy and to prioritise project locations.
We have been progressively preparing corridor strategies for State roads across Tasmania to create consistency in how the State Road Network is planned and managed.
Corridor strategies make planning and investment decisions transparent to the community, councils and other key stakeholders. By reviewing a variety of issues, a corridor study identifies:
If you would like to find out more information and you have accessibility requirements, please contact the project team (details below) or email EastTamarCorridorStrategy@stategrowth.tas.gov.au
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For further information on this project, please email: EastTamarCorridorStrategy@stategrowth.tas.gov.au.