Work is ongoing on Tasmania’s Murchison Highway to upgrade it to ensure it is safer for heavy vehicles to travel on.
The 147km Murchison Highway runs generally north–south, with Somerset, near Burnie, as its northern terminus and Zeehan as its southern terminus.
The highway was opened in 1963 and authorities have continually upgraded it under the Roads of Strategic Importance program.
The latest upgrades started in January but stopped during winter and started again in September. When completed, the highway will better accommodate heavy vehicles, and improve safety for road users by installing road safety barriers and improving the visibility of oncoming traffic in specific areas.
The roadworks will improve transport efficiency and make the road safer for all road users by increasing freight efficiency and reduce travel times on the Murchison Highway. The package will also facilitate inter-regional connections to and from northern export ports in Tasmania and improving the safety of the highway.
The Murchison Highway has been progressively upgraded from Belvoir Road south to Sterling River Bridge to support future increased demand from mining and tourism traffic.
As a key freight and passenger route connecting the west and north regions of Tasmania, it is critical for the movement of freight to Burnie Port for export and to other locations within Tasmania.
More information on the upgrades and how they affect the transport industry can be found here.