Midland Highway - Safety Upgrade

Project Description

This project comprised two components:

Upgrade at Constitution Hill

• The provision of a 1.6 m wide painted median and wire rope safety fence over 2.5 kms of the Midland Highway between the northern town boundary of Bagdad and Dysart.
• Widening of the existing Midland Highway road pavement to accommodate the 1.6 m median, plus the provision of 3 travelling lanes and wider sealed shoulders.
• Modification and upgrading of a number of Midland Highway intersections to provide for safer traffic movements including at the start/end of the median barrier and left turn deceleration tapers.
• Repair and resurface the whole of the sealed pavement for the length of the project.

New line marking Pontville to Breadalbane

• Installation of new audible, tactile centre and sidelines for appropriate sections over 140 kilometres of the Midland Highway.

Benefits

The project will:

• reduce the potential for head-on crashes;
• reduce the severity of loss-of-control crashes where the vehicle leaves the road to the right; and
• reduce the potential for collisions involving right turn intersections.

Funding

The Australian Government contributed $4.5 million with the State Government and Tasmania's Motor Accidents Insurance Board contributing the balance.

Timetable

Construction commenced in December 2008 and both parts of the project have been completed.