New section of Southern Outlet upgrade opens to vehicles at known bottleneck

Outlet sneak peak: First test of Hobart’s new arterial traffic congestion reduction works is underway with an extra lane now open.

Heavy traffic in bound to Hobart on the Southern Outlet with a fifth lane proposed. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

A key section of a multi-stage project to reduce congestion on Hobart’s Southern Outlet has opened to traffic, with an extra lane now available to vehicles travelling between Davey and Macquarie Streets.

The state government is spending $200m to install a fifth transit lane on the Southern Outlet, which is being built on the left-hand side of the inbound approach to the CBD.

Work on the first stage of the project – dubbed the Transit Lane Connector – began last August at the notorious bottleneck at the bottom of the outlet, and was recently announced as completed by the State government.

The new lane can now be used by all traffic from the end of the current dedicated bus lane, located approximately 100m before the Davey St intersection.

Once the final stage of the Southern Outlet project is completed, from Olinda Grove down to Macquarie St, the entire Transit Lane will operate as a T3 thoroughfare to be used by private vehicles carrying three or more people, buses, taxis, motorbikes, and emergency service vehicles.

It is hoped the new lane will encourage a greater uptake of public transport and carpooling, and improved travel times and reliability.

The T3 lane will connect to the far-left lane of Macquarie St, which has already become a peak-hour clearway.

Construction of the Transit Lane Connector involved widening the right-hand side of the Outlet between Davey Street and Macquarie Street to allow for an extra lane, the construction of a large retaining wall, resurfacing the road, and landscaping.

South Hobart residents last month voiced concerns about a lack of government consultation over nightworks at the site, which they said had exacerbated their distress over traffic congestion and noise.

One homeowner said the project had resulted in significant traffic detours through the suburb, and complained the changes had not been adequately communicated by the government.

On Thursday, Infrastructure Minister Kerry Vincent said the upgrade was part of his party’s 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future.

“Road users travelling into the CBD from the Southern Outlet will have a safer, smoother experience as the new lane eases the bottleneck between Davey and Macquarie streets,” Mr Vincent said.

He said the next step involved making protective measures to a 400m stretch of rock face at the southern end of the proposed transit lane site, near the Olinda Grove ramp.

Those works are set for later this year and need to be completed before construction starts on the transit lane, which will run city-bound between Olinda Grove and Macquarie St, he said.

Landscaping and other minor works will continue at the Transit Lane Connector site in May 2025, before the project is fully completed.

Originally published as New section of Southern Outlet upgrade opens to vehicles at known bottleneck