Launceston Road Safety Centre: Bike centre repairs and upgrades to now cost $3.8m, not $1.7m

“It is evident that cost escalation has occurred in the building and construction industry”: A Tasmanian council’s rebuild of a beloved community asset is expected to cost 123pc more than forecast.

South Launceston's Transport and Road Safety Centre. Picture: City of Launceston

Council documents have revealed yet another major construction project in Tasmania running grievously over budget – this time to the tune of $2.1m, which is 123 per cent more than its original cost estimate.

The City of Launceston shuttered its beloved Transport and Road Safety Centre, known colloquially as the Launceston bike centre, in 2019 to enable the facility to be repaired and upgraded after slippage behind the centre’s walls imperilled its structural integrity.

The bike centre, opened to the public in 1980, is located within a former municipal reservoir on Lawrence Vale Rd at South Launceston that dates back to 1894.

When the centre was closed in 2019, the estimated cost of repairing the damage and upgrading the site was $1.7m, according to a report prepared for councillors to consider at council’s ordinary meeting on Thursday.

However, the project is now expected to cost $3.8m – a blowout of $2.1m, representing an increase of 123.53 per cent on original forecasts.

Council faces a budget shortfall of $1,098,258, which will be covered via unallocated grant money from the Commonwealth’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program.

Councillors voted to acknowledge the budgetary readjustment, with the money to be allocated in 2024.

According to the report prepared for councillors, council has already spent $1.51m on stages one and two of the project.

Those stages involved earthworks, demolition and site preparation, as well as the installation of new fencing, amenities block and communications room.

South Launceston's Transport and Road Safety Centre when it was opened in 1980. Picture: City of Launceston

Stages three and four, involving the internal fit-out of centre with mock roadways, lighting, drainage, shelters, seating, play equipment, shade trees and irrigation, and the installation of lighting, CCTV and a car park, remain outstanding.

“As the project progressed, it became evident that [the] estimate was insufficient, and that additional funding would be required to complete this work,” the report said.

Part of the blowout related to an expanded project scope, the result of community consultation that netted 633 responses, reflecting the “significant sentiment present in our community for this centre”.

Additional features added as a result of the consultation included “a sheltered barbecue area, additional play elements, bike parking areas, toilet facilities and vegetation improvements”.

However, other factors outside council’s control were also at play.

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“Since the project’s inception in 2019, it is evident that cost escalation has occurred in the building and construction industry and material supply,” the report said.

“This has directly impacted on the Road Safety Centre upgrade and the budget shortfall quantum.

“The timing of this work has also been impacted by contractor availability. It is well understood that the demand in the building construction industry exceeds the capacity to deliver.”

The facility was intended to be reopened in 2022 – then 2023. It is now expected to be completed in the first half of 2024.

The centre is the latest in a long list of budgetary blowouts in Tasmania, including, but not limited to, the Northern Suburbs Community Recreation Hub, Marinus Link, the Albert Hall redevelopment, and the North-West Transmission Developments.

Originally published as Launceston Road Safety Centre: Bike centre repairs and upgrades to now cost $3.8m, not $1.7m