The Kingston Bypass is a 41 million, highway
bypassing the southern
Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
community of
Kingston,
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
. The proposal of a bypass was originally published in the
Hobart Area Transportation Study
The Hobart Area Transportation Study was a comprehensive transport plan released in 1965 for the purpose of examining the transport needs of the Australian Hobart metropolitan area over the proceeding 20 years. The study predicted the majority of ...
during 1965. The bypass was completed in 2011, after the need to such a road was realised several years earlier when the
Channel Highway reached an 18,000
AADT
Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a y ...
.
Construction of the Bypass was made possible by an A$15 million pledge for the project, made by the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...
during the
2007 federal election campaign. During construction total cost of the bypass blew out from the original estimate of $30 million to over $41 million.
Route description
The Kingston Bypass begins at the
Kingston Interchange, which connects the
Southern Outlet with the
Huon Highway
The Huon Highway is an highway in southern Tasmania, Australia. The highway forms part of the A6 and connects Hobart with the southern parts of Tasmania. The original Huon Highway (now known as Huon Road) was a twisty two-lane road skirting ...
. The bypass heads south-west, crossing Whitewater Creek after . The ramps for the Summerleas Road four-ramp
parclo interchange
A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange.
The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also be ...
are spread out over the next . The interchange also provides access to the bypassed section of
Channel Highway, which runs through development to the east. The Kingston Bypass continues south-west for another , before passing under Spring Farm Road and curving around to meet Channel Highway and
Algona Road at a large roundabout, further south.
The bypass is a
dual carriageway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
around the Summerleas Road interchange, and a single carriageway elsewhere.
It is the northern section of the
B68 road route, which continues south along Channel Highway,
and has a posted speed limit of .
History
The bypass was originally proposed in the
Hobart's Transportation study of 1965.
This study recommended the development of the
Southern Outlet as the primary access route to
Kingston and
Huonville
Huonville is a town on the Huon River, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. It is the seat of the Huon Valley Council area and lies 38 km south of Hobart on the Huon Highway. At the 2016 census, Huonville had a population of 2,714 and ...
.
The study also recommended that as part of the Southern Outlet, a bypass of Kingston be provided and that the future road connection should be provided between the
Channel Highway south of Kingston and
Blackmans Bay
Blackmans Bay is a coastal suburb of Tasmania, Australia, part of the Kingston-Blackmans Bay urban area and a satellite town of Greater Hobart.
Etymology
Blackmans Bay was named after a James Blackman who occupied land there in the 1820s. A ...
.
The Southern Outlet opened to traffic in 1968. In the absence of a Kingston Bypass, the Southern Outlet's southern Terminus was the Kingston Interchange.
In 1983, a bypass corridor for the future Channel Highway was proclaimed west of the existing Alignment.
In 1986
Algona Road was opened as a 2 lane road.
Algona Road was constructed for a task such as connecting Kingston Bypass to Blackmans Bay and has available space dedicated for a second carriageway.
The proclaimed bypass corridor runs from the Algona Road/Channel Highway Junction to the
Kingston Interchange.
Additionally in 1986, a Bypass of the Kingston CBD was provided by construction of a link road between the Kingston Interchange and Summerleas Road.
Design
The location of corridor proclamation was influenced by the
Hobart Area Transportation Study
The Hobart Area Transportation Study was a comprehensive transport plan released in 1965 for the purpose of examining the transport needs of the Australian Hobart metropolitan area over the proceeding 20 years. The study predicted the majority of ...
.
The transport corridor for the bypass is situated to the west of the Channel Highway's old alignment. Acquisition of the land required for the Bypass was commenced in 1983. Due to the realisation that extra land was required to facilitate a grade separated
interchange at Summerleas Road.
The northern terminus of the bypass is south of the
Kingston Interchange and located on the western side of the existing Channel Highway. The southern terminus of the bypass shares a new roundabout with
Algona Road.
The roundabout is the largest in Tasmania.
The roundabout has been designed to allow for the construction of a grade separated interchange when so needed. This essentially means that a sixth leg to the roundabout will be built with two of the current approaches becoming
one-way. To allow for the future duplication of the Highway and provide an alignment consistent with the connecting Southern Outlet, the
geometric alignment of the Bypass has been designed for a speed limit.
The posted speed limit on the bypass is currently .
Construction
Work Commenced on the Kingston Bypass in February, 2010. In March, 2010, several elected members of local government expressed concern the Project was stalling, after the apparent lack of construction work taking place the preceding month. in July, 2010, five thousand Aboriginal artefacts were found on the proposed route of the Kingston bypass,
in the area immediately south of Algona Road
This discovery included scarred stones, which were used to make tools, and stone blades and flakes. A stone quarry was also found.
The Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources and the Tasmanian Aboriginal came to an agreement that the Highway's alignment in that area would be shifted slightly to allow for preservation of the site. The southbound lane of the bypass was opened for 5 days starting 21 November 2011, as a temporary diversion to enable work to be completed on the
on and
off-ramps of the south-bound lanes of the bypass.
The project is currently ahead of schedule and is expected to be completed by late 2011.
Intersections
The entire highway is in the
Kingborough Council
Kingborough Council is a local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Greater Hobart Area. Kingborough is classified as an urban local government area and has a population of 37,734, it covers the ...
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
.
See also
*
Transport in Hobart
The city of Hobart, Tasmania is served by a wide variety of transport. While the city's main form of transport is private transport on the road network, transport is also available by bus, ferry and aircraft. A suburban train service operated betwe ...
*
Hobart Area Transportation Study
The Hobart Area Transportation Study was a comprehensive transport plan released in 1965 for the purpose of examining the transport needs of the Australian Hobart metropolitan area over the proceeding 20 years. The study predicted the majority of ...
*
Southern Outlet
*
Channel Highway
*
Algona Road
References
External links
Project WebsiteProject Map{{Road infrastructure in Hobart
Transport in Hobart
Highways in Hobart
Bypasses in Australia