William St reseal works scheduled for March

Published on 01 March 2022

The City of Launceston will next week begin work on a $1.1m reseal of William Street, between Tamar and St John streets.

The majority of work on the 380m section of road will be undertaken at night, and motorists are advised that detours will be in place.

In a first for Launceston, a 220m section of the existing road surface will be recycled and re-used as road base material.

This is achieved by milling the existing asphalt and base course — an estimated 1200 tonnes of material — and mixing it with a foam bitumen stabilisation additive.

The recycled material is then reapplied to the road base with a compactor, before a new layer of asphalt is applied to the surface.

Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said the recycling technology behind the project had been used in other parts of Australia, but its use was a first for the Launceston municipality.

"William Street is an important connecting road in close proximity to the CBD and the City of Launceston will attempt to minimise disruption to motorists whenever possible," Mayor van Zetten said.

"The recycling technology being used in this project is a cost-effective way to extend the life of a road without requiring total reconstruction and new materials.

"We ask motorists to obey any traffic management signage which may be in place throughout the course of the project."

Weather depending, the project is expected to take approximately four weeks to complete.