Brighton Bypass and Transport Hub, Australia

In April 2008, Southern Tasmania commenced its two-phase infrastructure project to enhance connectivity and commerce with the northern sectors and mainland Australia.

The Brighton Bypass and Transport Hub, peaking at $243m, is jointly funded by the Government of Tasmania and Federal Government of Australia. The bypass will rescue residents on Midland Highway from increasing pollution and accident rates as well as cut travel time for rail and road transport.

The $79m hub will be ready to serve road-rail freight and passenger traffic by January 2012 and the $164m-bypass by late 2012.

Brighton Bypass

Funded by the Australian Government, Brighton Bypass will upgrade the southern section of Midland Highway between Granton and Dysart.

It would enhance connectivity to the Brighton Industrial Estate and future Brighton Transport Hub, bypassing residential towns of Brighton, Pontville and Bagdad. With improved access to the East Coast, forestry freight vehicles would have access via Tea Tree Road to the Triabunna woodchip mill and port.

With a designed speed of 110km/h, a new dual carriageway highway will connect East Derwent Highway at Bridgewater and the current Midland Highway north of Pontville. This will serve the freight traffic apart from increased connectivity to the proposed hub.

Subsidiary developments like interchanges and roundabouts at major junctions tying different ends, building a major bridge over the Jordan River and three rail underpasses will achieve seamless connectivity between the geographic poles of the island.

Brighton Hub

The road-rail facility and freight distribution hub with full warehousing facilities will replace the Evans Street Transport Hub site at Macquarie Point that generates more than 250,000 vehicle movements per year.

The location of the hub is to the west of the existing Brighton industrial estate. It would be built with a total land area of approximately 50 hectares. The finances are shared between the Tasmania State and the Australian Federal Government.

In addition to the 2 × 1.3 – 1.6km lengths of rail turnarounds located either side of the hardstand for loading and unloading, a run-around line is located adjacent to the eastern turnout line to facilitate wagon and locomotive movements.

The transport hub would trigger new inter-modal connections within the region. Of the six development applications before the Brighton council, East Derwent Highway to Brighton Industrial Estate (Brighton 1) and Brighton Industrial Estate to north of the Lodge (Brighton 2) are directly connected to the hub. It is also proposed to deviate and improve the rail alignment east of the existing Midland Highway.

The project will also develop container wash, repair and preparation facilities, car parking area, water sensitive plant, storm water detention basins and additional access roads to adjacent properties.

Once the hub is operational by January 2012, it will open up the current Hobart rail yards site at Macquarie Point for future development. Additional warehousing and storage facilities and an industry park are also proposed to be developed.

Future Investments

Tasmania’s land freight movement is expected to double by 2022. Future projections for the Bridgewater and Brighton highway indicate a 79% increase in heavy vehicle traffic and 45% for passenger traffic by 2030. Traffic growth along the highway north of Brighton is projected to be relatively high at 67% for heavy vehicles and 34% for passenger vehicles according to Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources (DIER).

Therefore, in addition to the Brighton Project, the Tasmanian Government has also secured a $78m commitment from the Federal Government and is investing $44m to maintain Tasmania's rail freight services. As part of the Southern Tasmania National Transport Network Investment Program, a new Bridgewater Bridge and the Mangalore-Bagdad Bypass is proposed in the second five-year phase of the project with an estimated $200m investment.

Contractors

A VEC Civil Engineering and Thiess joint venture won the contract for the northern section of the bypass, estimated at $100m, while John Holland and Hazell Bros won the contract for the southern section, which includes the construction of the Brighton Transport Hub.