Contrary to the assertions of Brighton Mayor Tony Foster, there was no expectation on the part of the Tasmanian Government that the federal Budget would contain funding for the Bridgewater Bridge replacement.
Mayor Foster should be aware that funding for the Bridgewater Bridge is expected to be detailed in the next five-year national partnership agreement between the Tasmanian and Australian Governments to begin in two years.
The “Derwent River crossing capacity’’ is on Infrastructure Australia’s Infrastructure Priority List and the Bridgewater Bridge business case is currently under development by Infrastructure Tasmania. Discussions about this project have commenced between Infrastructure Tasmania and Infrastructure Australia.
The Hodgman Government is confident that this highly important $535 million project will be included in the next five-year infrastructure agreement with the Australian Government.
After repeatedly promising to fund the Bridgewater Bridge, the former Labor-Green Government siphoned the funds off to the Brighton Bypass, leaving the Southern Midlands and the Brighton area with a low-speed, two-lane bottleneck in and out of Hobart.
We will build a four-lane, 110kph bridge between Granton and Bridgewater that will seamlessly link the Midland and Brooker highways.
Rene Hidding, Minister for Infrastructure
