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 Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

over the proceeding 20 years. The study predicted the majority of the proposed traffic corridors would need to be operational by the 1985 target year. Ultimately, the majority of the study's recommendations were brought to fruition in some form or another. Sections of Hobart's three major radial highways—the

Tasman Highway The Tasman Highway (or A3) is a highway in Tasmania, Australia. Like the Midland Highway (Tasmania), Midland Highway, it connects the major cities of Hobart and Launceston, Tasmania, Launceston – however it takes a different route, via the no ...

(

Tasman Bridge The Tasman Bridge is a prestressed concrete girder bridge connecting the Tasman Highway over the River Derwent (Tasmania), River Derwent in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. When it opened on 29 March 1965, the Tasman was the longest prestressed con ...

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

), the

Brooker Highway The Brooker Highway is a highway in the Australian state of Tasmania. As one of Hobart's three major radials, the highway connects traffic from the Hobart central business district, city centre with the northern suburbs and is the major road con ...

(North of Berriedale) and the Southern Outlet—were influenced in their construction by the study's recommendations for grade-separated, limited-access

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

designs.

History

From the advent of the

Motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on railway track, rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such ...

to the 1960s, the number of vehicles registered had increased to almost 40,000 in the Hobart Area. The influx of motor vehicles in and around Hobart placed a great burden on the road system as it then existed. In 1963, the Department of Public Works, the Transport Commission and

Hobart City Council The City of Hobart is a local government area in Tasmania which covers the central metropolitan area of the state capital, Hobart. The city is governed by Hobart City Council and led by the Lord Mayor. The local government area has a populat ...

initiated the first urban transportation study conducted in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The Study was undertaken by US transportation and infrastructure consulting firm Wilbur Smith and Associates during the years 1963 and 1964, and the findings and suggestions were published in 1965.

Application

The Hobart Area Transport study area was to encompass Hobart's estimated metropolitan boundary in 1985 which extended as far as Granton in the north; Sorell to the east;

Howrah Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...

to the south east; and

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

to the south west. The study was engaged through detailed surveys from the public, analysing traffic statistics and analysing past traffic trends, in an attempt to predict traffic patterns in Hobart with a target year of 1985 – 20 years from the time of publication.

Publication of the Study

The Hobart area Transportation Study proposed the construction of four

Freeways A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

and one Expressway, a significant upgrade and expansion of the

, a duplication of the

, the possible creation of an additional crossing of the River Derwent and several smaller projects within the

Hobart central business district The Hobart City Centre (referred to as the Hobart CBD) is a suburb surrounded by metropolitan Hobart, which comprises the original settlement, the central business district, and other built-up areas. It is the oldest part of Hobart and include ...

. The study also encouraged greater use of roads through public and private transport and discouraged the use of Hobart's passenger train services as a primary mode of Transport in the city. The study acknowledged the capital costs of the proposed Freeways would be too much for the Tasmanian government to undertake alone, but suggested the possibility of

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

assistance if pursued. The study was composed of the following principle segments:

Estimates

The Hobart Area Transportation study was also released with estimates of daily Traffic of the proposals for the Target year of 1985.

References

External links