Tasman Bridge Upgrade - Safety Barrier and Pathways

Is the bridge safe to use?

Yes, the Tasman Bridge is safe to use. The Tasman Bridge was built to a design life of 100 years. We complete regular and extensive inspections and maintenance on the bridge as part of our ongoing management of this critical asset. The Tasman Bridge is inspected at least twice a week, and any maintenance issues are logged and scheduled for repair. Regular inspections and reports are part of our extensive program of planning, monitoring and maintenance to ensure this critical link in Hobart’s transport network remains in good shape for decades to come.

What are the project benefits?

This upgrade will make the Tasman Bridge safer for pathway users through a range of improvements including:

• 3-metre-high waterside barriers and 1.2m high roadside barriers on both sides of the Tasman Bridge pathways
• increasing width at handlebar and waist height and improved sight lines through crescent-shaped waterside barriers
• adding reinforced mesh and handrails
• installing three additional passing bays on each pathway to make passing easier and safer
• removing the bridge maintenance towers.

We will also be completing bridge strengthening of the bridge’s deck to maintain the lifespan of the bridge. The bridge’s lane use management system will also be upgraded to help us better control traffic during peak periods and incidents. We will also look at what needs to be done to manage the bridge for the rest of its life and what the future of the crossing should be.

How has this barrier design been chosen?

We developed and assessed several design options for the pathway upgrades. Each option was evaluated against our criteria of safety, accessibility, constructability, and how well it could be delivered given the physical constraints of the bridge and the available project budget.

The preferred design was selected because it offers the most practical and achievable solution and meets the project objectives of raising barrier heights, improving pathway connections, and maximising the available width for pathway users, including installing passing bays.

We did extensive technical assessments and engaged with key stakeholders and the design represents the most feasible solution.

This design also allows for continued access to electrical infrastructure and bridge maintenance during and after construction.

Can any changes be made to this design?

We are sharing the designs to keep the community informed about what’s coming. We welcome questions from the community about how the upgrades will be delivered and what they mean for pathway users.

However, due to the requirements of the project and the constraints of the bridge, it is not practicable to make significant changes to the design.

Why aren’t wider pathways being built on the Tasman Bridge?

The original proposal, which we released to the community 2022, was to build wider pathways on both sides of the bridge to support more walking, wheeling and riding.

After the release of the original concept design, we completed further extensive engineering analysis and wind modelling to check the effects of the new, wider pathway design on the bridge. We found that while more than capable of supporting the current bridge and traffic volumes, some pile groups (the bridge’s underwater foundations) wouldn’t be able to support the significant extra loads of the wider pathways.

To build wider pathways we would need to make changes to the structure of the bridge, including major reinforcing and strengthening of the bridge’s piles. This significant work is not practical.

Because of these limits we are only able to progress the project with a design that does not increase loading on the bridge. Our planned upgrades will deliver still improve safety and deliver meaningful improvements for active transport users.

The preferred design includes additional width at handlebar and waist height and improved sightlines through crescent-shaped waterside barriers, as well as three additional passing bays on each pathway.

What is bridge loading and why is it important?

Detailed investigations showed that the original designs for wider pathways shared with the community in 2022 would increase the loading on the bridge.

Loading refers to the forces and loads that a bridge structure is designed to withstand. There are different types of loading:

• Self weight is the mass of the bridge structure, and everything attached to it including concrete, pathways, light poles, handrails, asphalt, and maintenance gantries.
• Live load is the moveable loads, both vertical and horizontal, that apply to the bridge when it is used by cars, trucks, people and cyclists.
• Wind load is the wind pushing sideways, up, or down on the bridge. The higher the wind speed, the more load is placed on the bridge.

Other things like earthquakes, temperature changes, and ground settlement can also affect loading on the bridge.

The Tasman Bridge has tall, narrow piles, and for sideways loading caused by wind the strength of the piles is critical.

Adding wider pathways on both sides of the bridge with taller safety screens would increase the self weight and wind load on the bridge, which means the loads on the piles would also be increased.

We are unable to install wider pathways on the bridge as we would need to make changes to the structure of the bridge, including major reinforcing and strengthening of the bridge’s foundations.

If you are strengthening the bridge, why can’t you add the pathways?

The strengthening we will be doing is on the bridge deck, to maintain its lifespan.

This is separate to the significant structure modifications, including major foundation reinforcing and strengthening that would be required to build wider pathways, which is not funded under the current project budget.

What are you doing about the future of the crossing?

We are continuing to look at what needs to be done to manage the bridge for the rest of its life. We are also looking at the future of crossing, given that adding another lane to the bridge is not a viable option to cater for any future traffic increase.

We are doing some planning work to make recommendations on what needs to be done to manage the bridge for the rest of its life and identify appropriate ways to meet Hobart’s long term transport needs.

What is a lane use management system?

A lane use management system automates the switchover of the central lane of the bridge. This will improve flexibility in managing traffic during incidents and congestion. It will also improve safety for road users and bridge workers, by removing the need for field crew to be physically on the road to move bollards to switch the central lane.

Where can I find more information about previous community consultation?

The first phase of community consultation on the Tasman Bridge Pathways Upgrade project was completed on Tuesday, 19 July 2022.

We published the findings in the Tasman Bridge Pathways Upgrade Consultation and Feedback Summary Report (PDF file).

When will work on the project start?

We will be constructing the project in stages. To allow the installation of higher safety barriers on the bridge pathways, the pathways connections on the eastern and western shores will be improved first.

The construction tender will be advertised in late 2025, and the pathway upgrades are expected to start in mid-2026.

We will aim to keep one pathway open to the public and will keep the traffic lanes of the bridge open to traffic during the day during construction.

What improvements will be made on the eastern shore?

We are building the Tasman Bridge Pathways Upgrade project in stages. The first stage is constructing a shared path underneath the Tasman Bridge on the eastern shore. This will improve connections to the bridge pathways from Conara Road and Topham Street. These upgrades will help us to lessen the impact on people who use the Tasman Bridge pathways when we later close one pathway at a time to install the higher safety barriers.

In May 2025, we released a concept design to improve eastern shore pathway connections and sought feedback from the community and key stakeholders including the City of Clarence. We have now finalised the design, based on feedback received, including widening sections of the pathway to 2.5 metres.

We will be installing a 2.5-metre-wide shared path underneath the Tasman Bridge that connects the southern bridge pathway to Conara Road and Topham Street.

We will be doing landscaping and placing bollards to ensure safety for pathway users. There will be a handrail on the uphill sections of the shared path.

These upgrades will make it easier for people to walk, wheel or ride to access the Tasman Bridge pathways.

Construction will start in late 2025.

What improvements will be made on the western shore?

We will work with the City of Hobart and other key stakeholders to see what improvements can be made on the western shore, including improvements to directional signage.