Contractor selected to build new Bridgewater Bridge – December 2021

McConnell Dowell has been named as the contractor chosen to deliver the largest transport infrastructure project in Tasmania’s history, the new Bridgewater Bridge, ahead of the start of construction in 2022.

The announcement follows a comprehensive Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) procurement process that saw two tenderers working collaboratively with the project team over the past 12 months to develop their own designs and tenders for the project.

The project will improve safety, better connect communities and change the way people travel between the north and south of the state.

McConnell Dowell has now entered into an Early Activities agreement to start design specific site investigations, finalise designs and prepare construction management plans ahead of major construction starting in mid-2022.

McConnell Dowell’s chosen design features a new, four lane bridge downstream of the existing bridge including enhanced interchanges at Granton and Bridgewater, a safe shared pathway for cyclists and pedestrians and a navigation height matching the Bowen Bridge.

The upgrade will benefit the 22,000 people that travel across the bridge each day, including local residents, commuters and freight vehicles and will fix the missing link in Tasmania’s national highway.

Following extensive consultation on the project’s reference design in late 2020, a number of enhancements have been incorporated by McConnell Dowell into their design including direct access from Bridgewater onto the new bridge and an uninterrupted connection between the Brooker and Lyell highways.

The message from the Derwent Valley community was the need for a more direct route from the Brooker Highway towards New Norfolk, rather than having to stop at the roundabout at Black Snake Road. Traffic will now be able to travel from Hobart to New Norfolk and back without having to travel through a roundabout.

Likewise in Bridgewater, the community were vocal about the need for better links for local traffic. We have listened to the community and have incorporated an on-ramp from Boyer Road directly onto the bridge for traffic travelling south.

While the project will support an average of 830 direct and indirect jobs, Tasmanians will benefit from the creation of more than 200 new roles for locals, with 25 per cent of those roles to be recruited directly from Brighton, Derwent Valley and Glenorchy local government areas.

The new Bridgewater Bridge will cut travel times for Tasmanian commuters, create jobs by improving freight routes and boost the local economy.

The project team will continue to engage with the community and the project progresses towards the start of construction in the second half of 2022.

Useful links

• Designs
• Flythrough