Legana logjam: West Tamar Highway awaits traffic fixes

The commute from Legana to Launceston is typically a 15-minute drive, however, motorists have reported trips of up to 40 minutes due to banked-up traffic between the Freshwater Point Road and Acropolis Drive roundabouts.

The congestion forces Bridgenorth motorists to cut through Kavala Street or use the Freshwater Point Road roundabout to travel towards the city, while blockages in school zones between St Anthony's and Riverside primary schools are also common.

"I think it's becoming more noticeable, the slowdown of traffic at the moment," West Tamar mayor Christina Holmdahl said.

"We're getting evidence from motorists that even the times they leave home now have to be adjusted compared to what they were six months or a year ago.

"There's definitely a build-up of traffic."

EDITORIAL: Legana school welcome, but road access an issue

Legana is Northern Tasmania's fastest-growing suburb, and experienced a population growth of 26.6 per cent (3850 to 4874) between 2011 and 2021.

Its growth has paved the way for the construction of a new primary school, which will be located just off the highway opposite Velo Wines.

It is hoped that a $30 million highway duplication between Acropolis Drive and Freshwater Point Road will help ease traffic flow by the time the school opens in 2025.

Infrastructure Minister Ferguson said the upgrade, which also includes a new roundabout at the Bridgenorth Road intersection, was the priority project in a broader $100 million West Tamar Highway corridor improvement plan.

"The duplication ... will improve safety of all road users, transport travel times, transport reliability, as well as providing safe access to our new Legana Primary School," Mr Ferguson said.

"It will also tackle the difficult intersection with Bridgenorth Road and provide a new pedestrian crossing near the shopping centre and at the new Legana School."

RELATED: $100 million West Tamar traffic plan unveiled

Meanwhile, the business case for a new bridge between Riverside and Newnham is expected in the coming weeks.

The state government has committed $80 million towards the project, which is due by 2028 and is expected to cost about $400 million.

The exact location of the bridge is still yet to be decided.

"Geotechnical investigations and other works have been carried out to allow us to reduce the level of contingency and provide far more clarity about the potential cost, so a final business case can be presented to the Australian Government on the expectation that 80 per cent federal funding will likely require the project to be reviewed by Infrastructure Australia," Mr Ferguson said.

"Following the completion of the business case, we will progress a full and open public consultation on the proposed location and alignment of a second Tamar River Bridge."

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