THE state government has unveiled its first funding priority ahead of the upcoming federal election.
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Just weeks before the federal budget, the state government announced it had endorsed an Infrastructure Tasmania report seeking funding for a four-lane, $535 million bridge.
Infrastructure Minister Rene Hidding said projections indicated the state would lobby the federal government to chip in $428 million to the project.
He said funding would be sought through the next round of the Infrastructure Investment Program, expected to open next year.
Work would be expected to start in the 2019-20 financial year if the funding application was successful.
The government proposal differs from the one unveiled by Labor in 2012 in that it would be built on the existing bridge site and not require the purchase of additional land, Mr Hidding said.
The new bridge is located in the marginal seat of Lyons, which polling analysts have suggested is the most likely of the three Liberal held seats to change hands at the federal election.
Lyons MHR Eric Hutchinson applauded the push for funding and said he would work with federal ministers to ensure they were aware of the project’s significance.
“A new Bridgewater bridge will benefit all Tasmanians [and] everyone who drives on the Midland Highway,” he said.
Labor Lyons candidate Brian Mitchell said the government’s update was “smoke and mirrors” and the same proposal announced by Labor in 2012.
“In 2013 state and federal Labor delivered $600 million to upgrade the Midland Highway including planning and initial construction of a new Bridgewater Bridge," he said.
This is the biggest single public utility project since the Tasman Bridge was built
- Rene Hidding
Premier Will Hodgman said the government was waiting on final federal approval before receiving $16 million in federal funding originally earmarked for Cadbury.
The federal funds, along with $8 million of state government money, were rolled into a $24 million jobs and investment fund last year.
When asked if the fund would be used for pork barrelling, Mr Hodgman said he believed the grants would be “warmly welcomed by local communities, business people and entrepreneurs who want to see our economy continue to grow through strategic leverage”.
