The Liberal party has confirmed the potential alignment and timeline of the much awaited Tamar Bridge ahead of the state election.
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Premier Peter Gutwein confirmed that the new bridge would connect the East Tamar Highway, near the University Way intersection, to the West Tamar Highway north of Cormiston Road.
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At the last election, the state government committed to a feasibility study, which has since proven the bridge to connect across the Tamar would be achievable.
If re-elected, the government would commit $80 million dollars to the Tamar Bridge project. The state government will ask the commonwealth government to fund the remainder of the project within their first 100 days of office as part of this commitment.
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Mr Gutwein said he was confident the federal government would come to the table given the project's strong body of work.
"Given the strong body of work already done confirms the benefits, I am very confident the Commonwealth will come to the party and fund their share of this vitally important infrastructure for the Launceston and Tamar Valley regions," he said.
Mr Gutwein confirmed that the government would "closely consider" the new Tamar Bridge as a major project to ensure expediency.
"Given the estimated value of the tender and the complexity of the project, we will also closely consider declaring the new Bridge as a Major Project, ensuring it can be delivered as soon as possible," he said.
"There is no doubt a new Tamar River Bridge will transform this growing region and deliver benefits for commuters for decades to come, and if we are re-elected, we are committed to delivering it."
Mr Gutwein reiterated that the state government had hopes of completing the project by 2028, subject to commonwealth funding being approved.
"Following the approval of the Commonwealth's funding contribution, we expect the design, planning, approvals and procurement processes will commence in 2023, with construction to commence in 2025 and be completed by 2028," he said.
Over the past few months, Labor has been critical of the state government's handling of the project.
In March, Labor deputy leader Michelle O'Bryne said the state government had "broken promises" over the project by not commencing construction during this term.
"Tasmanians simply cannot believe anything Michael Ferguson says and this Liberal Government continue to break promises and fail to deliver real infrastructure outcomes," Ms O'Byrne said at the time.
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