After a tender process lasting five months and ongoing lobbying from the West Tamar council, works on the Batman Highway have begun and are expected to be completed in July.
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The works also include improvements to the Frankford Highway and the Birralee Main Road and are funded by a $55 million state and federal contribution.
The work will not make any changes to the Batman Bridge itself and Tasmanian Infrastructure and Transport Minister Michael Ferguson said there were no plans to change its name as part of the upgrade but was "open to listen to different points of view on the matter".
Mr Ferguson did not say whether there would be delays for motorists but said the upgrade would offer a safer route for trucks to traverse from the Bass Highway through to Bell Bay.
"There are centre lines but no lines on the sides of the road, that's because it's not regulation width," he said.
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"We'll achieve [regulation width] by road widening and shoulder strengthening as well.
"They are a package of works together that are going to allow truck movements to occur in a safer way."
Mr Ferguson said the works would be completed by local construction company Hazell Brothers who had also worked on previous upgrades to the West Tamar Highway.
Mr Ferguson said he expected the upgrades in Hillwood to not only help road safety but be reflected closer to town.
"This is going to take pressure off the roads in Launceston," he said.
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Deputy Prime Minister and federal Infrastructure Minister Michael McCormack said the priority for the upgrade was making the roads safer for travellers.
"We're strengthening, we're lengthening, we're making sure that all the abutments and the shoulder widening is being done and any work that the engineers look at and say that it needs to be done, we'll do it," he said.
Mr McCormack said the works would start on Monday and could provide an economic boost to the region during the construction.
"It's not only the road safety that it will enhance, it's also jobs in the construction phase and that little cafe just down the road that will be selling more coffees," he said.
Bass MHR Bridget Archer said the upgrade was needed in the region.
"The package will provide a faster and more efficient route for freight vehicles travelling between the industrial precinct of Bell Bay and the Bass Highway," she said.
West Tamar mayor Christina Holmdahl said the improvements were "most welcome" after being "on the books for a long, long time".
"It's going to address all the shortcomings and improve road safety," she said.
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