In short:
A report assessed seven options to improve St Marys Pass, with solutions costing up to $2.7 billion.
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report → assess → billion
The critical arterial road connects Tasmania's east coast to Hobart and Launceston, and was closed for months in 2022 after a major landslip.
What's next:
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What → connect → landslip
The federal government has committed $10 million to look at scope and development.
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government → commit → scope
For three months in late 2022, a critical road between towns on Tasmania's east coast was closed after a major landslip.
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road → close → landslip
The closure of St Marys Pass between the Tasman Highway and Esk Highway significantly affected nearby communities.
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closure → affect → communities
It affected emergency service access, the delivery of essential goods and tourism during the sector's peak period.
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It → affect → period
A new report from Building Tasmania has revealed costings and community feedback on seven proposed options to improve the notorious road.
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report → reveal → road
No solution 'fully resolves the challenges'
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solution → resolve → challenges
St Marys Pass winds tightly through 6 kilometres of Tasmanian hinterland.
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Pass → wind → hinterland
But, built almost 200 years ago by convicts, the government has acknowledged the narrow road no longer safely caters for modern traffic.
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road → build → traffic
The department investigated maintaining the current road, maintaining and upgrading it, and five alternative alignments.
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department → investigate → it
Costs range from $50 million to $2.7 billion.
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Costs → range → billion
In its newly released assessment, Building Tasmania said the project faced major cost hurdles and significant engineering challenges.
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project → release → hurdles
"The assessment does not identify a single solution that fully resolves the challenges associated with St Marys Pass," it reads.
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it → identify → Pass
"This section of the road has a long history of slope instability including landslides, rockfalls and tree falls, which has resulted in frequent road works to keep the pass open to traffic."
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which → have → traffic
The report from Building Tasmania outlined community feedback on the seven proposed options, with concerns raised over the future of St Marys if a new route bypassed the town.
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route → outline → town
Community members also suggested retaining the existing route for use as a bicycle and walking track, if an alternative road was built.
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road → suggest → track
An option known as the 'blue route', which would re-route the Pass along an existing TasNetworks power line north of the current road, received the most positive community response.
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which → know → response
Building Tasmania favoured the blue route because it was the "shortest and straightest route", was already cleared of vegetation, and wouldn't force closure of the existing Pass during construction.
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it → favour → construction
However, the summary report found the 'purple' option to maintain and upgrade the existing route over 10 years achieved the "strongest overall outcome", when factoring in cost, community support and deliverability.
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option → find → cost
It is also the cheapest upgrade option, at approximately $50–70 million, and received the second-highest level of public support.
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It → receive → support
"The assessment does indicate that a program of targeted upgrades to the existing road provides the best balance between resilience, affordability, community acceptance, constructability, and environmental impact," the report reads.
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report → indicate → resilience
"The purple route provides the best balance of cost, deliverability, environmental outcomes and community support.
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route → provide → cost
"
Arterial route essential for tourism
The federal government has committed $10 million to the project so far, but more funding will be required to move it forward.
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funding → commit → it
Break O'Day Mayor Mick Tucker said implementing a long-term solution for St Marys Pass was urgent, with the constant patch up jobs over the years a waste of time and money.
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jobs → say → time
"If we were to stop doing all that and put all the money into one project, it'll pay for itself over time," he said.
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he → stop → time
"At what time do you say it's too expensive?
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it → say → ?
Because it's only going to get dearer."
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it → go → ?
He said the road was "absolutely essential" in connecting major Tasmanian centres Hobart and Launceston to the east coast.
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road → say → coast
"We keep promoting the Bay of Fires, Wineglass Bay, all of the big attractions," he said.
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he → promote → attractions
"Not much use promoting them if you can't get to them."
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you → promote → them
He said while he was glad to see the state government looking at the issue, it needed to be matched by action.
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it → say → action
"Reports are great," he said.
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he → say → ?
"But when are we actually going to do something to help alleviate the problems that St Marys Pass continually faces?"
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Pass → go → that
Planning minister wants existing road upgraded
State Infrastructure Minister Kerry Vincent supported the report's findings and did not favour the two options costed at $1 billion and $2.7 billion.
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Vincent → want → billion
"[That] is a phenomenal amount of money when we've got an existing road there that can be done up much cheaper," he said.
"
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he → get → road
Alterations to the existing road are the most sensible."
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Alterations → exist → road
He disagreed with suggestions the project would not proceed.
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project → disagree → suggestions
"I really believe that we need to move this along," he said.
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he → believe → this
"The passion of the people in the area, and I've mentioned Mayor Tucker before — he will not let me let this rest."
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this → mention → Tucker
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia