Jordan River Levee
 | Brighton Transport projects | |||||
Introduction
The Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources (DIER) and its many contractors are well progressed with the construction of the 9.5km Brighton Bypass. The requirement for the Brighton Bypass to be completed in its current location is based on a comprehensive review of alternative routes and relates to the need for improved safety and increased efficiency of the national highway system in Tasmania. The social and economic benefits of this $176 million project are already accruing to the broader Tasmanian community with many hundreds of people employed on the project.
Extensive environmental and heritage assessments have been undertaken over many decades with more focused assessments occurring over the past two years. Whilst most approvals are in place at this time, a 300 metre section of the northern bypass that enables the crossing at the Jordan River and the associated levee deposit is yet to be approved.
An extensive and sophisticated archaeological investigation was undertaken on the western side of the Jordan River and within the bypass alignment after the discovery of what was thought to be a very old and intact deposit containing Aboriginal cultural material (see fact sheet). The investigation findings confirmed that the site is the oldest known site in Tasmania and amongst the oldest known in Australia and is about 600 metres long and about 60 metres wide.
Once DIER was aware that this site was potentially significant, the design where the road intersects the levee deposit was reviewed. The first generation design would have resulted in significant impacts on the levee deposit. Understanding that this would be unacceptable to the Aboriginal and archaeological community, a bridge design involving 70 metre bridge span was developed to avoid permanent impacts on the levee deposit. The cost of the revised bridge will be approximately $10 million. Once the final results of the investigation were announced another design concession was made to the bridge construction methodology. At a cost of an additional $2 million the long bridge span will be launched from above rather than lifted from below to avoid impacting the levee.
A short embankment, bridge abutments and multiple span bridge must be constructed outside the levee to complete the crossing. The documents included here provide a detailed description of the proposed Jordan Bridge design and management options that will allow the long term protection of the portion of the site that is on Crown land including management and interpretation to be determined by the Aboriginal community. An overview of the alternative road alignments that have been considered over recent decades is also included.
To enable the construction of this bridge, a permit to partially destroy is required. This permit application is made under Section 14 of the Aboriginal Relics Act 1975 and includes a proposal to partially destroy a small portion (4%) of the broader Aboriginal heritage site within which the levee deposit is located. Importantly, this proposal does not result in the destruction of the highly significant cultural deposit contained within the Jordan River levee. The permit application also includes a proposal to protect the remaining 16% of the flood plain that is owned by the Crown. The remaining 80% of the Aboriginal site remains in private ownership.
DIER accepts that the Aboriginal community is concerned about impacts on this very important heritage site and has proposed a number of measures that come at a high cost but are offered to provide a genuine way forward that will guarantee the preservation of the levee site while still permitting the construction of the Brighton Bypass.
| Title | Description | Document |
| Fact Sheets | Key facts summarising background to the project, outcomes of the investigations and DIER's proposal, including correction of some information that had been misreported. | Fact Sheet 1: Key Points Fact Sheet 2: Economic Benefits of Brighton Bypass Fact Sheet 3: Construction Fact Sheet 4: Archaeology & Definition of the site Fact Sheet 5: Permit Application Fact Sheet 6: Alternative route review Fact Sheet 7: Consultation |
| Permit Summary | Permit Summary  (1.23MB) | |
| The Jordan River Bridge Proposal | This document describes the proposal and shows how impacts on the Levee will be avoided. | |
| Video of Proposal | The Video shows the extent of the Levee and how the bridge crosses over the Levee. The outline of the Levee is the white broken line |  |
| Defining the Jordan River Levee Addendum to interim report | Report explains how the Jordan River Levee site has been defined. | Addendum to Interim Report on the Jordan River Levee Excavation - May 2010 (113KB) |
| Executive summary of Final Archaeology report | Final Archaeological Report - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (1.68MB) | |
| Final Archaeology Report | The archaeological report provides the detailed results of the investigation and recommendations for future management of the Jordan River Levee Site. | PART 1 (4.40MB) PART 2 (4.42MB) |
| Geometric and Structural Options for bridge at Jordan River Levee | Report on geometric and structural options at the Jordan levee. | Jordan Valley ? Geometric and Structural Options (4MB) |
Permit Application
| Permit to Interfere application & Fact Sheet | Explains DIER's proposal to construct a bridge over the Jordan River and associated levee. | "Permit to Interfere" (45.2KB) |
| Appendix 1 Maps | Map 1. Northern Bypass Sections Map 2. JRL - Southerly aspect Map 3. JRL - Westerly aspect Map 4. JRL - Aboriginal site details Map 5a. Plan view of JRL crossing Map 5b. Elevation of JRL crossing Map 5c. Plan of permanent impacts Map 5d. Plan of temporary impacts | |
| Appendix 2 Jordan River Bridge Proposal (see above) | This document describes the proposal and shows how impacts on the Levee will be avoided. | |
| Appendix 3 Practical and feasible alternatives | A DIER assessment of some of the route options proposed by the Aboriginal Community | Practical and Feasible Alternatives (4.04MB) |
| Appendix 4 Interim Report | The report prepared immediately after the investigation took place but prior to artefact analysis | Interim Report |
| Appendix 5 Ruling out Burials (Ground Penetrating Radar Report) | Radar technology was utilised across the site so that DIER could ensure no burials were located in the Levee in close proximity to the highway. | Ground Penetration Radar Report (3.93MB) |
| Appendix 6 Aboriginal Community Consultation Overview | Consultation (321KB) | |
| Dating of the Levee report | The OSL report provides a detailed explanation of how the Levee was dated. The dating process is also described in the Final Archaeological report. | Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) Report (172KB) |
Other
| Review of alternative options to the current Highway | An Independent peer review of route options proposed by the Aboriginal Community. | DIER fact sheet "Report for Brighton Bypass, Jordan River Crossing Alignment Options - Geometric and Safety Review" (76.5KB) |
| Review of original TAC option | Review of original TAC option (771KB) | |
| Brighton Bypass Project Option - October 2008 | Brighton Bypass Project Option - 2008 | |
| Traffic Modelling January 2008 | Traffic Modelling - 2008 (3.15 MB) | |
| Brighton Bypass Project Option - March 2009 | Brighton Bypass Project Option - 2009 (1 MB) |
