Economy
Aboriginal artefacts could move bypass
MOVING a section of the controversial Brighton bypass could add delay the project by up to two years.
The proposed changes also require the purchase of as many as 40 properties and add tens of millions of dollars to the cost.
The State Government has conceded that the route for the $176 million project may have to be altered but said the decision would rest with the new heritage minister after this week’s election.
The bypass crosses an area of the Jordan River littered with Aboriginal artefacts that could be as old as 40,000 years.
The Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources is awaiting a report on the artefacts and department secretary Norm McIlfatrick said yesterday another route might have to be considered.
After first believing the food scraps, stone carvings and other remnants were 17,000 years old, archaeologist Rob Paton has since found the remains could be twice that age.
Initial tests have shown them to be at least 28,000 years old and up to 40,000 years old, making them some of the oldest in Australia.
When Mr Paton released the report to the Mercury last week, Mr McIlfatrick said planners had returned to the drawing board and devised a 70m bridge to pass over the historically significant site at a cost of $10 million.
Mr McIlfatrick said the area also would have planning covenants placed on it to ensure there was no further disturbance and the 60m by 600m site could be preserved for further archaeological investigation.
The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre rejected this plan, saying it would still destroy the site.
Mr McIlfatrick said designers were now looking at diverting around the site completely, based on options provided by the centre’s legal adviser Michael Mansell.
The new plans include:
• Diverting the sweeping bypass away from the Jordan River levee.
• Taking the road from the southern side of the levee, across homes and properties and over the Jordan River near the Palonia railway bridge.
• A massive bridge section over the northern side of the bridge to cope with the depth of the river valley, with the road then snaking back to Tea Tree Rd.