Council will be closing Huon Highway off from the traffic lights at the intersection of the Channel Highway and Huon Highway near the Kingston Hotel to the Kingston Bypass, whilst work is conducted on building a pedestrian underpass under Huon Highway.
Kingborough Mayor, Paula Wriedt said this section of the road would be closed for up to 4 weeks from Saturday 9 July until the 9 August 2022.
“The road will be closed to allow the installation of the new pedestrian underpass linking Kingston Park to the Kingston Wetlands, opening up more connections and creating safer pedestrian movement,” Cr Wriedt said.
“Council has coordinated this closure to begin at the start of the School Holidays to try and minimize traffic disruption.
“The alternate option of keeping a single lane open was investigated but would have resulted in three months of traffic disruption rather than four weeks.
“That three months would be significantly more expensive, less safe for construction workers and would have required further excavation that would have impacted upon the root protection zones of the high conservation value trees that we have retained.
“This way, though an inconvenience to many travelling to and from Kingston, the time period is significantly shortened with half the time occurring over the July School Holiday period.
“Council will keep the public up to date with the works, through our local papers, via our social media sites as well as communicating alternative travel routes for everyone.
“This upgrade is part of a larger upgrade to the CBD area in Kingston.
“The community have overwhelmingly told Council that they want Kingston to be a dynamic, thriving and connected place with more attractive green spaces and improved links for pedestrians and cyclists.
“The upgrades to our roads, paths and CBD will make sure that Kingston is prepared for new growth, further investment and is an attractive place that people want to stay, shop and access services in.”