The Liberal Government is committed to improving safety on the Midland Highway – one of Tasmania’s most strategic passenger and freight routes.

Contracts have been awarded to Tasmanian civil construction companies for six priority projects along the highway, and work is now underway.

This is the Liberal Government’s top road safety priority and will help save lives.

Importantly, these projects will also employ about 180 people and inject $16 million into the local economy.

Work started last week on the following sites and is expected to continue until April 2015:

• South of Kempton road widening over 3km to install safety barrier – Hazell Bros ($4.4m)
• South of Spring Hill road widening over 3km to install safety barrier – Hazell Bros ($4.3m)
• North of Spring Hill road widening over 3km to install safety barrier – VEC Civil Engineering ($3.4m)
• South of Tunbridge curve improvement – Shaw Contracting ($1.1m)
• Esk Main Road Junction to Conara northbound acceleration lane – Shaw Contracting ($1.6m)
• Kings Meadows Connector new roundabout to address queuing onto the Midland Highway – VEC Civil Engineering ($1.2m)

These upgrades are about improving safety as soon as possible at these high-risk locations and are part of the State and Federal Government agreement to invest $500 million in improving the Midland Highway.

The Liberal Government remains committed to progressively upgrading the Midland Highway to four lanes.

The crash history of the highway demands that the focus in the immediate term must be on safety improvements at targeted sites to help lower the risk of serious casualties.

Using the AusRAP methodology (which is the national road safety audit approach initiated by the combined national motoring associations, including the RACT), our objective is to lift the safety standard of this strategic highway to a minimum 3 Star AusRAP safety rating over its entire length.

Between Bagdad and Perth, more than 70 per cent of crashes are single-vehicle loss of control or head-on crashes.

That is why we’re installing median flexible safety barriers, which reduce the risk of serious injury crashes by up to 90 per cent, installing audible edge lines (“rumble strips”) and removing roadside hazards.

We recognise that there will be some disruption and delays for motorists travelling along the highway as the safety improvements are progressively rolled out.

We thank motorists for their patience and understanding, in advance.

The Liberal Government is making the Midland Highway safer for all road users.
Rene Hidding, Minister for Infrastructure