Council chasing public input on latest Hobart Airport roundabout upgrade planning application

Plans for the latest design of the upgraded Hobart Airport roundabout have been opened for public comment – four years after the project was first promised.

THE long-awaited Hobart Airport roundabout upgrade project has taken a step forward, with work expected to start “in the coming weeks.”

The planning application for the latest design is now available for public comment on the Clarence City Council website.

The $50 million upgrade was first announced in 2016 as part of the federal election campaign, but construction has still not begun.

Last month, the State Government gave an assurance it will be finished by mid-2022.

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The RACT had called for the project to be fast-tracked to provide economic stimulus.

The project, initially costed at $30 million, will replace the roundabout with a four-lane interchange to ease traffic between Sorell and Hobart.

Design drawings of the proposed Hobart airport roundabout upgrade.

The tender for the project was awarded last year to Tasmanian construction firm Hazell Bros.

The firm submitted the planning application, which shows that the amended layout of the project will have two roundabouts – that will provide access to Kennedy Drive and Holman Avenue – joined by a road that will pass under a 10m high bridge on the Tasman Highway.

The planning documents said the interchange had been designed to cater for modelled traffic levels up to the year 2041.

Infrastructure Minister Michael Ferguson said the new design would mean highway traffic can flow completely uninterrupted.

“This project has already been approved under a previous DA and Hazell Bros can commence on-site works under that existing development approval while the new DA goes through the approval process,” he said.

Infrastructure Minister Michael Ferguson. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

Opposition infrastructure spokesman Shane Broad said the slow progress to date on the project was “a symptom of the Government’s infrastructure mismanagement”.

“There’s no time for more delays and I urge the Government to get on with the job and deliver the results,” Dr Broad said.

Mr Ferguson said the time frame for delivery remained unchanged, with work expected to start “in the coming weeks”.

The planning application is open for comment until June 24 and the proposal will then go to council for consideration.