Ms O’CONNOR – Minister, I want to take you to the situation on the Huon Highway. I’m sure my colleague, the honourable member for Huon, will have some question for you on this as well. As you know, in February of this year, a 17-year-old schoolboy was struck by a vehicle at this notorious location on Huon Highway and sent to hospital in a critical condition.
I know that since then the government has moved to lower speed limits from 100km/h to 80 km/h; but this is an area of road that locals, as we understand it, had been frightened about ‑ for everyone who crosses it, but particularly for the kids – for a very long time. School children are reported to have said they feel unsafe crossing the road. Who would be surprised by that? It’s the Huon Highway.
Are you able to provide an update to the committee on the safety remediation works on the Huon Highway?
Mr VINCENT – Thank you. Yes, obviously, it was a concern before that unfortunate accident had been raised by locals as an area of concern, and we actually travelled down there to stand there for over an hour watching it and seeing where parents pick up from. As we know, any school pickup area – whether it’s at a school or out on sides of roads – are awkward places sometimes for that. The department then worked through a process with council all the way through of identifying some of it. I’ll just read this page out to give you clarification and then I’ll add to it and get the deputy secretary to add to it as well on where we’re at the moment.
The Australian Government has committed $40 million to upgrade priority sections of the Huon Highway between Kingston and Southport, as identified in the Huon Highway Corridor Strategy. The Tasmanian Government has currently committed $3 million to commence improvements to the following high-priority projects: the Mountain River Rd intersection at Grove –
That we were talking about now –
And the Leslie Rd intersection at Leslie Vale. Design is progressing on improving the bus stops and pedestrian safety at the Huon Highway – Mountain River Rd intersection. On completion of the design in November 2025, the department has engaged with the Huon Council on the proposed design and consulted with the community on the preferred option.
I think there were five or six options done there of various mechanisms.
Design and community consultation on improvements to the Huon Highway and Leslie Rd intersection is scheduled to commence in mid-2026. In addition, the Tasmanian-Australian governmentsfunded $16 million and $13.2 million respectively for the new Huon Link Rd.
Ms O’CONNOR – Just to clarify, minister, did you say design on these remediation works, safety works, at this location are not due to start until the middle of next year?
Mr VINCENT – I’ll seek clarification on that because I that might be where it says here ‘Leslie Rd’ and not ‘the Grove intersection’, because we saw the original concepts and there were a couple of them that made it awkward for parents in other ways because of the growth in that area, and that’s where council come into play with the local communities. I’ll ask the deputy secretary to expand on those consultations and the final designs, please.
Ms HEYDON – Through you, minister; the bus stop and pedestrian safety designs have been completed and we’ll be engaging with the council, if not at the end of this month, in early December, and looking to commence construction after community consultation in early 2026.
Ms O’CONNOR – Construction of the new works in early 2026?
Ms HEYDON – Yes, that’s what we’re targeting. The reference that the minister made to mid-2026 is the consultation we will be undertaking around the Leslie Rd intersection.
Mr VINCENT – The other interesting point in discussions is also with the bus companies about where it’s feasible. Some of the options were to turn the corner and go into what is paddock there now, but it’s an area where they pick up, but in consultation with the bus companies it was also raised that makes it awkward because it changed the time when they’ve still got to get back out across the traffic. Traffic lights are awkward because you’re coming down a steep hill. So, there was lots of varying things looked at and a lot of consultation done, and that ended up coming up with the final design that’s in a couple of different stages of getting done.
Ms O’CONNOR – I think you spoke earlier about $3 million allocation towards a small number of jobs, including this safety upgrade. That’s not a lot of money.
Mr VINCENT – No. I spoke about the overall funds I’ve just handed back for the project at all. When you have a corridor strategy, and I’ll certainly ask for a bit more clarification, you put forward certain projects, but that can be moved and taken from one –
Ms O’CONNOR – Within that budget, if you need more.
Mr VINCENT – For that strategy, yes.
Ms O’CONNOR – Because I guess –
Mr VINCENT – Yeah, that $3 million was to commence improvements and work our way through it. Then the two amounts were the $16 million, and $13.2 million, which gave a total of $29.2 million. Then that is addressed as part of our ongoing discussions on what money is needed for that area.
Ms O’CONNOR – Following up on the member for Huon’s question and the answer to that question about the feedback from the consultation, is what the government’s planning for that section of the highway what you, minister, or State Growth, would advise is best practice in response to the risks there?
Mr VINCENT – Understanding that the department always looks at what’s best practice for any of the design work, there are a lot of design standards they have to meet. That’s part of what they look at. But I would ask for more clarification from Cynthia, please.
Ms O’CONNOR – I’m just trying to make sure we’re not inventing shortcuts because of funding considerations or some nearby landowners that are annoyed by the prospect of a new piece of safety infrastructure there.
Mr VINCENT – Landowners nearby were largely extremely supportive, just as a point on that intersection.
Ms HEYDON – Part of the design work actually does require us to do a safety assessment, including that sort of motion, people movement, because it is around pedestrian safety as well. While there is $3 million committed, and as the minister mentioned, the Australian Government has committed $40 million overall to the corridor, what we’d be looking to seek is some access to that money to get the preferred upgrade that we’ve designed.
