The Sorell Causeway is a causeway that carries the

Tasman Highway The Tasman Highway (or A3) is a highway in Tasmania, Australia. Like the Midland Highway, it connects the major cities of Hobart and Launceston – however it takes a different route, via the north-eastern and eastern coasts of the state. The ...

across

Orielton Lagoon The Orielton Lagoon is a shallow dystrophic lagoon located west of Sorell in south east Tasmania, Australia. Description The lagoon is in area and averages in depth, separated from Pitt Water by the Sorell Causeway. It is a Ramsar Wetland, p ...

and Pitt Water, from the western side of to in the south-east of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, Australia. The causeway and adjacent Mcgees Bridge provide vital links between Hobart and two of Tasmania's principal tourist attractions -

Port Arthur Historic Site Port Arthur is a town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. It is located approximately southeast of the state capital, Hobart. The site forms part of the Australian Convict Sites, a World Heritage ...

on the

Tasman Peninsula The Tasman Peninsula, officially Turrakana / Tasman Peninsula, is a peninsula located in south-east Tasmania, Australia, approximately by the Arthur Highway, south-east of Hobart. The Tasman Peninsula lies south and west of Forestier Peninsula ...

and the picturesque East Coast via the Tasman Highway.

History

In colonial times, the Richmond Bridge had been the primary crossing point of the Coal River on the road from Hobart to Sorell and beyond to the

and Port Arthur. It had been decided much earlier that if a crossing at Pitt Water could be made, it would considerably reduce the time to reach Sorell. The engineering was difficult, but with a ready supply of convict labour on hand, the causeway was constructed with main force. It was finally completed in 1872. The Sorell Causeway is the second such convict-built causeway in the South-East of Tasmania, and is similar to the causeway section of the Bridgewater Bridge across the River Derwent.

Description

In recent years it has undergone massive repairs and modifications. It has been decided that there needed to be a better flow of tidal water from Pitt Water and Orielton Lagoon into the open sea as the stagnation was causing outbreaks of

Blue-Green Algae Cyanobacteria (), also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum of gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name ''cyanobacteria'' refers to their color (), which similarly forms the basis of cyanobacteria's common name, bl ...

which was poisoning the other marine species there. As a result, sluice conduits were cut into the lagoon, and a new pile system was created, to turn longer sections of the causeway into actual bridges. Ever since its construction it has been a major route of access from Hobart to the east coast and the

, and is now a section of the

References

{{Road infrastructure in Hobart Bridges in Hobart Causeways Buildings and structures completed in 1872 1872 establishments in Australia Road bridges in Tasmania