South East Traffic Solution

Project commitments under the South East Traffic Solution include:

• Arthur Highway Overtaking Lane - an overtaking lane on the Arthur Highway, south of Iron Creek Bridge.
• Midway Point Intersection Solution - Replacing the roundabout with signalised intersection.
• Sorell Southern Bypass - A bypass between the Tasman Highway near the Giblin Drive intersection and the Arthur Highway near Nugent Road.
• Planning for duplication of  Midway Point and Sorell Causeways - Planning to widen both causeways and duplicate McGees Bridge.
• Tasman Highway - Hobart Airport to Western causeway - Turning facilities and two further lanes linking the first causeway with the new Hobart Airport Interchange.
• Hobart Airport Interchange Upgrade - Replacing the roundabout with a new interchange.

We have released final designs for the Hobart Airport to Western Causeway, Midway Point Intersection Solution, Sorell Southern Bypass, and Hobart Airport Interchange.

Fulton Hogan have been awarded the contract for the Midway Point Intersection Solution. Preliminary works will start in late 2020, with construction due to start in early 2021.

Proposed construction time frame

During Construction

There will be some changes to traffic lanes and intersection arrangements during the works, to help us effectively carry out the works, and keep everyone safe.

Lane closures and reduced speed limits will be in place during the works. Road users will need to allow extra travel time.

Traffic management at worksites along the Tasman Highway will be coordinated to minimise delays.

More information will be provided closer to the start of works.

In mid-2019 we asked the community for their feedback on options for:

• Sorell Southern Bypass
• Hobart Airport to Western Causeway
• Midway Point intersection Solution.

The first consultation period closed on 28 June 2019. You can view a summary of all the feedback received: Consultation Summary  - South East Traffic Solution 2019

After that consultation, we reviewed the community feedback and worked with key stakeholders to draft a revised design for the Hobart Airport to Western Causeway project.

The design was available for public comment in December 2019.

More information, including key issues raised during the consultation and our response, is in the Project Update.

View a full-size version of the map here (PDF).

The Tasmanian Government has also made a commitment to:

• in January 2019, a network of revised bus services was launched in Southern Tasmania. This includes a significant increase in services to a number of locations including Sorell and the Huon Valley
• planning to improve Tasman Highway access ramps at Rosny.

The Sorell to Hobart Planning Study is continuing to identify the most effective and cost efficient ways of reducing congestion and providing peak period travel time reliability on the Tasman Highway between Sorell and Hobart.

The Sorell area is leading population growth in Tasmania’s south, increasing at nearly three times the rate of the state as a whole. With that growth comes increasing pressures on the transport system leading to traffic congestion and reduced travel time reliability at peak times for commuters and visitors travelling between the Southern Beaches, Sorell and Hobart.

Further pressure on the local road network is generated by strong growth in tourist traffic, with Sorell at the junction of the Tasman Highway and Arthur Highway, carrying through-traffic from the Great Eastern Drive from the north, and Port Arthur and the Tasman Peninsula from the south-east.

The South East Traffic Solution is a multi-level short and medium term Tasmanian Government vision that recognises the need to preserve the lifestyle attractions of Sorell and the Southern Beaches as commuter satellite communities.