About the Safer Rural Roads Program (SRRP)
The SRRP, introduced as a new initiative under the Towards Zero Action Plan 2020-2024, has seen over $11.5 million awarded to 77 projects across Tasmania at a total value of nearly $15 million.
The SRRP aims to improve road safety outcomes in Tasmania by reducing the number of head-on and run-off-road crashes that occur on rural and regional roads.
The SRRP is a key initiative of the Towards Zero Action Plan 2020-2024 under the Towards Zero Tasmanian Road Safety Strategy 2017‑2026 and provides grant funding to Tasmanian local governments to implement infrastructure treatments that best achieve the aim of the program.
Funding is awarded to successful applications through a competitive grant funding process administered by the Department of State Growth.
Funding for the SRRP is provided by the Road Safety Levy and projects are also supported by in-kind contributions and co-contributions from local governments (as applicants).
In 2021, the SRRP was also supported by a $5.9 million co-contribution from the Australian Government through Tasmania’s funding allocation under Tranche 1 of the Road Safety Program.
1Why this program?
Rural and regional local government-owned roads are the focus of the SRRP as they typically carry lower traffic volume than strategic corridors. Generally, this results in these road corridors being unlikely to attract funding for major upgrades such as shoulder sealing, lane separation, or junction realignments, in the medium to long term.
This is an important road safety consideration given that local government-owned roads comprise approximately 80 per cent of the Tasmanian road network (approx. 14,500km).
Of this 14 500km, approximately 78 per cent (10,700km) are in rural or regional areas (i.e., outside of recognised city and town boundaries).
The SRRP focuses on these 10 700km of roads as they account for approximately one-third of Tasmania’s fatal and serious injury crashes, with head-on and run-off-road crashes being the primary crash types.
2Why a program for local government?
Local government is pivotal in reducing the level of fatal and serious injuries on Tasmanian roads in support of the Towards Zero Tasmanian Road Safety Strategy 2017‑2026 and the National Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030.
In Tasmania, local government-owned roads make up about 80 per cent of the Tasmanian road network. This is roughly 14 500km of road, of which about 10 700km is in rural or regional areas.
The SRRP focuses on supporting local governments, as local governments are often best-placed to identify problems on their road network and engage their community to action appropriate solutions.
In practice, this means that local governments are well positioned to implement infrastructure treatments that align to best practice, solve specific road safety problems in their local areas, and support their communities’ needs.
3Fact sheet
For a short overview of the SRRP, please read the Safer Rural Roads Program fact sheet (PDF 121kb).