Residents tell of near misses and injuries on a notorious Tasmanian road
Residents on Tasmania's east coast are recounting their near misses and crashes on the notorious St Marys Pass as the state and federal governments consider the estimated cost of fixing the problems.
Residents of St Marys Pass on Tasmania's east coast are calling for urgent upgrades or a re-routing of the notorious road, citing large trucks and rockfalls as major safety concerns. A recent government report assessed seven options for the road, with costs ranging from $50 million to $2.7 billion. While the state and federal governments have not committed to any full project yet, they are debating how to split the funding.
A resident, Sandra French, recounted a recent incident where she nearly got hit by a truck passing through the road. Another resident, Carmel Sullivan, suffers from whiplash due to the road's conditions and said no one likes using it. The closest option to a complete project would be the "purple route," costing $50-$70 million to maintain and upgrade the existing road over 10 years.
However, even this cheapest option may not receive funding. State Infrastructure Minister Kerry Vincent has ruled out the two most expensive options, saying alterations to the existing road are the most sensible.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
