RTI 15-16-22
1
The following has been released in relation to a request for information regarding
roadworks associated with the expansion of the fish farming industry in Strahan, and
in particular any estimated or proposed costings for a bypass.
A bypass of the residential area of Strahan was originally raised with the Department in early
2014 by representatives of the Strahan Streets Working Group. However, a bypass has never
been in the scope of the project to upgrade Macquarie Heads Development Road.
The scope of that project complies with a number of conditions imposed on the Development
Permit, issued by West Coast Council to the Tasmanian Salmonoid Growers Association
(TSGA) member companies, for an Aquaculture Hub at Smiths Cove.
While the 5.2 km road corridor between Strahan and Smiths Cove accessing the Hub (Reid
Street, Harvey Street, Andrew Street, Ocean Beach Road and Macquarie Heads Road) was
already used by heavy vehicles, the conditions imposed by Council required the upgrading of
the road corridor to cater for the increase in traffic generated by the Hub.
Following approval of the development application, the Department of State Growth took over
responsibility for the road network from Strahan to Smiths Cove. The Tasmanian Government
provided $5.2 million for the road improvement works required by the conditions of the Council
permit.
The project scope included:

Upgrading the junction of the Lyell Highway (Reid Street) and Harvey Street.

Constructing a footpath in Harvey Street, from Andrew Street to Manuka River Bridge.

Strengthening and widening the pavement on Ocean Beach Road, from Manuka River
Bridge to Macquarie Heads Road.

Reprioritising the junction at Ocean Beach Road and Macquarie Heads Road,
providing more efficient and safer truck movements.

Widening and sealing Macquarie Heads Road, from Strahan Airport to Smiths Cove
Road.
The Department and the project design consultant (Pitt and Sherry) Project Team has
undertaken, and continues to undertake, extensive consultation with key stakeholders and the
broader Strahan community throughout the planning and construction phases of the project.
At the initial meeting with the Strahan Streets Working Group, held in Strahan on 25 February
2014, the Group conveyed its concerns for the safety and amenity of residential areas. The
view of the Group was that a bypass link, from Henty Main Road to Macquarie Heads Road,
is a long-term project that should be investigated in the future.
The key issues for the Group have been to address safety and amenity concerns:

the construction of footpaths in Reid Street (Lyell Highway) and Andrew Street (Henty
Main Road), because of the increase in traffic and number of heavy vehicles
generated by the Smiths Cove development;

achieving heavy vehicle travel speed reductions in residential areas; and

achieving cessation of engine brake use by heavy vehicles in residential areas.
RTI 15-16-22
2
The Secretary of the Group made a submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Public Works in September 2014.
Over the past 16 months, the Department has worked with the TSGA to develop and
implement a Code of Conduct, resulting in heavy vehicle drivers reducing travel speeds to
40 km/h, and not using engine brakes in residential areas.
The construction of footpaths in Reid Street and Andrew Street is not in the scope of the
Macquarie Heads Development Road upgrade project, due to funding limitations. However,
in late 2014, the West Coast Council developed concept designs for a footpath in Andrew
Street and commenced the first stage of constructing a footpath in Reid Street. The Reid
Street footpath and a new footpath in Andrew Street were completed in 2015, following a grant
from the Tasmanian Government of $500,000 to employ displaced workers from the Mt Lyell
mine.
To celebrate the completion of the footpath program, the Group held a Footpath Party in
Strahan on 4 November 2015. The e-mail invitation for this party stated that the event would
be “an opportunity to inform our community about another Strahan Streets Working Group
project, the campaign to plan, cost, fund and then build a road to the Aquaculture Hub which
bypasses Strahan”.
The Department’s view is that the priority safety and amenity concerns of the Group have
been addressed with the construction of the footpaths in Andrew and Reid Streets and the
implementation of the Code of Conduct by the TSGA for heavy vehicle drivers accessing the
Aquaculture Hub.
A heavy vehicle bypass of the residential area of Strahan, from Henty Main Road to Macquarie
Heads Road, would only remove a portion of the heavy vehicle traffic servicing the Hub, as
vehicles carrying fish feed and smolt would still use the Lyell Highway and Harvey Street route.
While no formal cost estimate has been prepared, costs of similar projects at other locations
indicate that such a bypass would cost in the order of $10 million.
The State Roads Infrastructure Service Policy, available from the Department’s website at:
http://www.transport.tas.gov.au/road/roads_for_our_future/state_roads_infrastructure_service_policy,
includes an underlying principle to maximise the benefit from existing investments in the State
Road asset. This means that existing roads will be upgraded and improved in preference to
building new roads that add to the asset base and increase the level of funding required to
maintain that expanding asset base.
For these reasons, a bypass is not in the Department’s forward planning program to be
investigated as a future road improvement project.
However, the Project Team continues to engage with the Group and other key stakeholders
on the outstanding elements of the current project, including the sealing works and
construction of a retaining wall at Mill Bay.