The notorious Sideling road between Launceston and Scottsdale will enjoy a $25 million cash splash if Labor wins the federal election, as part of a bumper $150 million roads package for Northern Tasmania.
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In what would be a significant contribution to upgrading roads in the North, Labor's $153 million pledge includes funding not just for the Sideling, but for the West Tamar Highway ($25 million), Frankford Highway ($20 million), Bass Highway ($50 million), and more.
Labor infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese will today announce that the package would make Tasmania a safer place.
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"The package will not only make Tasmania's roads safer, but also boost productivity, thereby driving economic growth and job creation," Mr Albanese said.
"Better roads will allow for swifter movement of produce and exports around the state, while also supporting growth in tourism, which generates more than $3 billion a year and supports nearly 40,000 jobs."
Bass Labor MHR Ross Hart said the announcement continued Labor's "targeted and strategic investments to create thousands of jobs in regional Tasmania".
"A federal Labor government will commit funding towards key road projects which have been identified as priorities by local communities," he said. "This includes Palana Road on Flinders Island, Dalrymple Road and The Glen Road in the George Town municipality ... [and] Birralee Road."
Mr Hart said the proposed Sideling funding would go towards upgrading a 24 kilometre stretch of the Tasman Highway between St Patrick's River and Minstone Road.
This investment will revitalise the region, by [tapping into] the agricultural potential of the North-East, boosting farm production and reducing freight costs by more than $3 million a year.
- Ross Hart
"This will include the addition of new passing lanes, road widening and realignment for a straighter road," he said.
"This investment will revitalise the region, by [tapping into] the agricultural potential of the North-East, boosting farm production and reducing freight costs by more than $3 million a year."
The West Tamar Highway improvements would include extra overtaking lanes to help with easing traffic congestion.
Two new roundabouts at Exeter would also be funded, to bolster safety at busy intersections, particularly on Glen Ard Mohr Road, near Exeter Primary School and Exeter High School.
The Frankford Highway upgrade would see new overtaking lanes constructed and vital sections of the highway straightened, while the Birralee Road upgrade would seek to realign and widen certain parts of the road, both to improve safety and to increase efficient movement of agricultural and manufacturing products.