Cimitiere and Charles Street upgrades scheduled for 2018
Published on 08 December 2017
The City of Launceston will carry out two major CBD road reconstruction projects in early 2018, as part of more than $7.3m of road upgrades and improvements the Council is undertaking this financial year.
A major upgrade of a section of Cimitiere Street — between the Tamar and Lawrence Street intersections — is due to start in February, while pedestrian safety improvements in in Charles Street outside the Launceston General Hospital, are due to commence in January.
Both projects have the potential to cause disruption during construction, and the Council is seeking to minimise inconvenience to motorists, pedestrians and businesses wherever possible.
City of Launceston General Manager Michael Stretton said he hoped people would understand that infrastructure renewal was important, and brought benefits to the city.
"We are eager to flag with the community that these two projects are on the horizon and that we are focussed on minimising disruption when they get underway early next year," Mr Stretton said.
"They are both big and complex projects on CBD roads that are highly utilised by motorists and pedestrians, and this means there will be challenges for us during construction.
"We hope people will bear with us during the works, because renewing and improving our infrastructure is important for any contemporary city.
"The Cimitiere Street rehabilitation works have been designed to replace a segment of the road which has reached the end of its life.
"This stretch of road is simply not built to the standard required nowadays for heavy traffic volumes.
"Over the years, it has been resealed and upgraded a number of times, and the Council has worked hard to extract every possible day out of its lifespan.
"But given the street's importance as an east to west link, it's come to the point where we need to excavate the road and start again with proper base materials, appropriate subsoil drainage and reconstruction to contemporary standards."
The Charles Street project — partly funded by the Federal Government — will include a dedicated pedestrian crossing point, general street beautification and raising of the existing roundabout at the Frankland and Charles Street intersection.
"The area around the LGH is highly pedestrianised, but there is no dedicated crossing point for people on foot," Mr Stretton said.
"The work we are undertaking in this area will take place between Frankland and Howick Streets and will include general improvements to the road, as well as a dedicated pedestrian crossing."