Residents tell of near misses and injuries on a notorious Tasmanian road

A Tasmanian east coast resident is concerned she could "become a statistic" if changes aren't made to St Marys Pass — a notorious stretch of road frequently used to get to the coast.

The winding, six-kilometre stretch of convict-built road, connecting the town of St Marys with the east coast struggles to cater for modern traffic.

Scamander resident and former Burnie mayor Sandra French has lived in the coastal town for eight years and often uses St Marys Pass to get to Launceston.

"The trucks are getting bigger, they're getting heavier and we're having falls, landslides coming from the top," she said.

"I went up one day and it was falling behind me and I rang police and they had to come down and clear it."

Ms French also recalled a trip where she was nearly hit by a truck coming through.

"This huge truck came round … and he came so close to the car I pulled over and put my hands over my face thinking, 'he's going to hit me',"

she said.

"Thankfully he didn't … it was just unbelievable."

Ms French said she would like a route just for heavy vehicles.

"These trucks are on secondary roads, that were built for oxen and a cart."

St Marys resident Carmel Sullivan said she also felt scared using the road.

"I suffered a bit of whiplash when I was young in a car accident and now I tense up doing St Marys Pass,"

she said.

Ms Sullivan said she did not know anyone who liked using the road.

"Every single mainland visitor I've had, have said what a terrible road that is," she said.

Seven options considered 

Both women and most others in the surrounding communities want a safer drive.

Some want a completely new route, others an upgrade of the current infrastructure.

Earlier this month Building Tasmania released a report detailing costings and community feedback on seven proposals to improve the notorious road.

Project costs ranged from $50 million to $2.7 billion.

An option known as the "blue route", which would re-route the pass along an existing TasNetworks power line north of the current road, received the most positive community response.

Building Tasmania also favoured it as the "shortest and straightest route" but when factoring in cost, community support and deliverability, it backed what is known as the "purple route".

"The purple route provides the best balance of cost, deliverability, environmental outcomes and community support,"

the report said.

The cheapest option at $50-$70 million, the purple route would maintain and upgrade the existing route over 10 years.

Challenging terrain

For three months in late 2022, the narrow stretch of road, sandwiched between forest and large rock walls, was closed after a major landslip.

The closure, between the Tasman Highway and Esk Highway, significantly affected emergency service access, the delivery of essential goods and tourism during the sector's peak period.

The steep slopes, geology, and sensitive ecosystems across the region create "significant challenges" for road design and construction for both new and existing roads, according to Building Tasmania.

A spokesperson said most upgrade options assessed had sections of more than 50 per cent that would be highly susceptible to landslip.

The "red route", which would use an existing road through Upper Scamander, was the exception with 25 per cent of the route susceptible.

That option was costed at $2.7 billion.

Who will pay?

State Infrastructure Minister Kerry Vincent has all but ruled out the two options costed at $1 billion and $2.7 billion.

"[That] is a phenomenal amount of money when we've got an existing road there that can be done up much cheaper," Mr Vincent said.

"Alterations to the existing road are the most sensible."

But, even that cheapest option is not guaranteed of receiving funding.

"The recently released options assessment will be used to determine whether any of the options will progress to further planning and design work, noting any new routes will be extremely expensive to deliver," Mr Vincent said.

Traditionally, road projects in Tasmania have been 80 per cent funded by the federal government and 20 per cent by the state government.

But the federal government's policy changed in late 2023 to preference for a 50:50 funding split.

The federal government has allocated $10 million towards St Marys Pass upgrades.

It is not yet clear if, or how, a complete project would be funded.

"The most cost-effective option to deliver immediate improvements is to upgrade portions of the existing road, and we are working with the Australian Government on the best use of their committed $10 million,"

Mr Vincent said.

"Work beyond this will require funding through Tasmanian and Australian Government budget processes on the long-standing 80:20 funding ratio basis.

"For the Australian Government to suggest 50:50 funding is a drastic departure from established practice and is dudding regional Tasmanians."

Mayor warns against a 'band-aid solution'

For Break O'Day mayor Mick Tucker, the road presents one of the biggest challenges in his municipality.

"It is so important for us. This is not only the road that supplies our goods … this is our main evacuation road for medical emergencies," Cr Tucker said.

"If we don't have the St Marys Pass up and running, we are putting lives at risk if an ambulance can't get someone to a hospital in time."

He said while he supported a new road, it was important to "face the reality of the cost".

"The federal government and state government, neither of them are exactly flush with funds.

"What we've got to have is something more than a band-aid though, we cannot continually see the pass being degraded.

"If they're going to come and do some serious work … create better lines of sight and reduce the opportunity for landslip and rockfall, $70 million [for the purple route] sounds like a big price tag — in the big picture it's not much."