Huon Highway - Sandfly Road - intersection safety upgrade

Hazell Bros have been awarded the contract for the Huon Highway / Sandfly Road Intersection safety upgrade.

Works will start in February 2021, with completion anticipated to be at the end of 2021, weather permitting.

From Thursday, 1 July 2021, there will be a minor traffic change that will affect road users travelling on the Huon Highway towards Huonville.

There will be no change to traffic travelling from Huonville towards Hobart at the Sandfly intersection.

Huonville-bound traffic will use the newly-constructed traffic lane, with signs in place to guide road users.

To keep everyone safe, the speed limit through the project site will be reduced to 40km/h to allow road users to become familiar with the new arrangements.

Please allow five minutes extra travel time and follow the directions of traffic controllers and signs.

We asked people for their feedback in June/July 2019 on a concept design to improve safety at the intersection.

We considered the feedback from the community and key stakeholders, and used it to develop a new concept design.

The revised concept design was presented to key stakeholders and the wider community in July/August, 2020 and includes the following features.

• The revised design has been reconfigured to address the issues of confusion in the centre of the intersection and obscured driver vision.
• The concept design includes wider medians, providing room for buses and trucks to wait safely, and traffic islands.
• One of the uphill lanes through the intersection has been removed by relocating the overtaking lane to the west of the intersection to improve safety.
• The slip lane for Huon-bound vehicles turning left into Sandfly Road south has been relocated, which will improve vision for those entering the Huon Highway from Sandfly south.
• A new slip lane into Sandfly Road north towards Longley will provide a deceleration lane for descending vehicles, which reduces the risk of turning vehicles being struck from behind.
• The design also includes improved pedestrian, cyclist and car parking facilities, better access to the bus stops, and improved lighting through the intersection.

We undertook a second round of consultation and invited feedback from the community in July 2020 on a new concept design, the elongated wide median treatment, to improve safety at the intersection (see image).

We considered all feedback, including individual feedback, as well as having consulted with Kingborough and Huon Valley Councils, local industry, business owners, and key stakeholders to determine a final design solution. This solution is based on community consultation and feedback

View the 2019 Consultation Summary Report.

View the 2020 Consultation Summary Report

The design incorporates the following improvements.

• A left turn slip lane has been added from Sandfly Road south onto the highway heading to Huonville. Vehicles will be able to turn left at the intersection and accelerate up the hill in their own lane making it a safer entry for drivers using the highway.
• The relocation of the southbound bus stop to the Hobart side of the intersection places the bus stop closer to the parking facility making it easier for passengers to access.
• The relocation of the pedestrian crossing closer to Hobart will reduce the number of lanes that pedestrians need to cross, making it safer for road users and pedestrians.
• A new fenced footpath from the bus stop on the Sandfly side of the intersection to the pedestrian crossing making it safer for pedestrians.
• The parking facility has been made larger so that more parking is available.
• Bike crossings for cyclists are included in the design.

Click here to enlarge the design.