Brooker Highway | |
|---|---|
 | |
| The busiest point of the Brooker Highway, The traffic lights at Risdon Road | |
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| General information | |
| Type | Highway |
| Length | 17 km (11 mi) |
| Opened | 1954 |
| Route number(s) |  National Highway 1(Hobart–Granton) |
| Former route number |  State Route 1[1] |
| Major junctions | |
| South end |  Tasman Highway / Davey Street /Macquarie StreetHobart, Tasmania |
 Domain Highway Goodwood Road Lyell Highwayfor full list seeMajor intersections | |
| North end | Midland Highway,Granton, Hobart |
| Location(s) | |
| Region | Hobart |
| Major suburbs | Glebe,Lutana,Goodwood,Glenorchy,Montrose,Rosetta,Berriedale,Claremont,Austins Ferry |
| Highway system | |
TheBrooker Highway is ahighway in theAustralian state ofTasmania. As one ofHobart's three major radials, the highway connects traffic from thecity centre with the northern suburbs and is the major road connection to the cities and towns of northern Tasmania. With anannual average daily traffic of 48,000,[2] the highway is one of the busiest in Tasmania. The Brooker Highway has recently been declared part of theNational Highway.
The Brooker Highway runs approximately 17 km (11 mi) north from the central business district, through the northern suburbs of Hobart, and through theCity of Glenorchy, bypassing commercial and industrial centres along the originalMain Road. It is primarily a four lane (dual-carriageway) highway, and apart from theDomain Highway junction, only the northern sections of the highway havegrade separated junctions. The remainder of the junctions are regulated bytraffic light intersections.
While the highway is substantially less congested than in other states during peak hours, it is more congested off-peak than roads inQueensland,Western Australia, and almost as congested as those inNew South Wales. It is thus a busy road by any Australian standard.[3] The Brooker Highway is currently[when?] below the acceptablelevels of service, andcongestion issues are expected to worsen significantly over the next 20 years with the highway already approaching its designed capacity.[4] A current proposal to convert theSouth railway line corridor for use as alight rail system has the potential to alleviate the Brooker Highway's traffic problems.[3][4]
The first stage of the Brooker Avenue was constructed as a dual carriageway four-lane road in 1954 between Risdon Road, New Town, and Elwick Road, Glenorchy. The north-bound and south-bound roads were divided by a wide median strip with trees planted at intervals. At various points the median strip was dissected by a short roadway to enable traffic to U-turn to the opposite direction.
In 1957 work began on extending the road into Hobart city. This work dissected part of the former racecourse grounds at Cornelian Bay, and the obliteration of Batman Place which was the location of huts built for affordable housing. The road was built on an embankment which crossed the Main Line Railway and Bellevue Parade via a concrete bridge. The road skirted around the edge of the Queens Domain to an area known as Cleary's Gates. At the intersection with the Domain Highway, a grade-separated intersection was completed which is commonly known as the 'clover-leaf'. Between here and the city the new road consumed much of Park Street.
At Liverpool St a new roundabout, namedRailway Roundabout (as it was adjacent toHobart railway station), was completed in 1960. In 1965, theHobart Area Transportation Study was released and entailed large development plans for the Brooker Highway, that included extension as far as Granton. By 1966 the road was extended from Elwick Road to the Main Road atBerriedale. This entailed some shoreline reclamation works at Montrose Bay.
In 1977 the highway was further extended, taking the road from a new interchange at Berriedale Road to theClaremont Link Road. This section was initially a single-lane road each-way but with a third climbing lane in the north direction. In 1981 the final section between Claremont Link Road and Midland Highway at Granton was commenced. This was opened in 1983 as a single-lane road each-way, and with a long climbing lane in the south direction, commencing from Black Snake Lane and merging in near Hilton Road, in Austins Ferry. In 1992 the four-lane dual carriageway highway that stands today was completed through to Granton and the Bridgewater bridge.[5]
The Brooker Highway was built as a replacement to the originalMidland Highway route between Hobart city andGranton, which passed alongElizabeth Street, New Town Road andMain Road, through the built up areas ofNew Town,Moonah,Glenorchy, Rosetta, Montrose, Claremont and Berriedale.[5]This was the first major highway construction in the Hobart City region, and was named Brooker Highway, after the Minister for Transport at the time of the conception of the project,Edward Brooker. Although the road's formal name is BrookerAvenue, it is more commonly referred to as BrookerHighway whilst the section between Berriedale and Granton is often referred to as theNorthern Outlet.
In April 2007, theDepartment of Infrastructure, Energy & Resources announced plans to replace the sub-standard rustedlight poles between Risdon Road and Clearys Gates Road.[6] These are over 40 years old and were the first lights on the Highway, which sparked some concern from theHobart City Council. They argue that the light poles are in good condition and are a significant feature of the Brooker Highway entrance to Hobart. While the Hobart City Council supports the replacement, they have written to Infrastructure Minister Jim Cox asking him to consider retaining the ornate arms on modern pole bases.[6]
On 4 April 2010 18-year-old pilot Patrick Humphries made world headlines[7] by using the normally busy highway as an emergency landing strip after running out of fuel.[8] Humphries was unhurt from the accident and no vehicles were involved in the incident.[9]
Before 2016,Elwick Road andGoodwood Road formed two separate t-junctions on opposite sides of the Brooker Highway offset by around 100m. The upgrade undertaken between January 2016 and May 2017 aligned Elwick Road with Goodwood Road so that one set of traffic lights could be removed. Extra lanes were also added.
At the same time the adjacent Brooker Highway intersection, Howard Road / Renfrew Circuit was also converted from a five-exit two-lane roundabout to a traffic-lights controlled intersection. The fifth exit from the former Brooker Highway roundabout, Timsbury Road, is now accessed from Howard Road.[10] The contract for the works, awarded toHazell Bros was worth $32 million.[11]
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In February 2011, theDepartment of Infrastructure, Energy & Resources revealed intentions to within 3 years "Finalise design options for Domain Highway intersection and increased lane capacity betweenDomain Highway and Risdon Road".[12] This intention was reaffirmed in an October 2017 submission by the Tasmanian Government to Infrastructure Australia: "Brooker Highway - Risdon Road to Domain Highway - no cost estimate, concept designs to be prepared."[13]
TheDepartment of State Growth released a report titled Hobart Congestion Traffic Analysis 2016 prepared by traffic engineer Keith Midson. Under long-term solutions, the report considered the Liverpool St intersection with the Brooker Hwy, also known as the 'railway roundabout'. The report stated "The railway roundabout is a major cause of congestion... A possible solution is the grade separation of the roundabout."[14]
Recently the government came under pressure from the community to improve pedestrian access over the highway atGoodwood and eliminate the stairs primarily for the benefit of the elderly and handicapped.
The highway starts in the Hobart CBD at the junction withEastern Outlet (A3, Tasman Highway),Davey Street (A6) andMacquarie Street (A6). The Tasman Highway heads east over theTasman Bridge, past theAirport and eventually leads to the east coast of the state, while Davey Street leads towards theSouthern Outlet (A6), which in turn heads south towardsKingston andHuonville (Davey and Macquarie are one-way streets - Davey Street flows south-west, and Macquarie Street flows north-east through the CBD).
Apart from the connection to Davey and Macquarie Streets, the major intersection with streets in theCBD is the three-lane roundabout at the north-east end of Liverpool Street. Because it was built in close proximity to theHobart railway station at the time, the roundabout was, and continues to be, called theRailway Roundabout. The sunken garden in the centre of the roundabout functions as a pedestrian thoroughfare, with under-road tunnels connecting to the two sides of Liverpool Street, the original site of the railway station to the north-east, and to the Domain and the suburb of The Glebe to the north-west. The roundabout was originally just an un-controlled intersection, but with the gradual increase in traffic, particularly from the eastern shore of the Derwent, it was often in grid-lock at peak travel times. Traffic lights were introduced and alleviated the situation, and later construction of the direct links from the Tasman Bridge to Davey and Macquarie Streets further relieved the pressure. Other streets from the CBD provide access to the highway, but for much of its length to the city boundary at Risdon Road it is limited access road.
Through the City of Glenorchy the highway has large multi-lane intersections, at Risdon Road, Elwick Road and Derwent Park Road. The highway is in a reasonable condition for its age, but does experience congestion for certain periods during the day.
Trees line the middle nature strip for several kilometres, and fencing prevents pedestrian access at various points. The Highway makes its way pastThe Domain, Cornelian Bay Hockey Grounds, Rugby Park,The Royal Hobart Showgrounds,Tattersalls Park and theDerwent Entertainment Centre. At the northern end (atGranton) it connects to theMidland Highway (National Highway 1) (which heads north towardsLaunceston) and theLyell Highway (A10) (which takes motorists towards thewest coast).
| LGA | Location | km[15] | mi | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart | Hobart | 0 | 0.0 |  Tasman Highway (A3) north /Davey Street &Macquarie Streetone-way couplet (A6) south – Sorrel,Hobart Airport | Highway terminus; no access from the highway to Davey Street or Macquarie Street |
| 0.3– 0.4 | 0.19– 0.25 | Liverpool Street (A3) to Tasman Highway northeast / Liverpool Street & Bathurst Street one-way couplet southwest – Sorrel, Hobart Airport, Hobart city centre | Traffic light controlled roundabout | ||
| 1.1 | 0.68 | Warwick Street – Hobart,North Hobart | |||
| North Hobart–Glebe boundary | 1.3 | 0.81 | Burnett Street southwest / Shoobridge Street east – North Hobart,West Hobart, Glebe | Shoobridge Street intersection isleft-in/left-out only; Complete access between Brooker Highway and Burnett Street at traffic lights | |
| New Town | 3.0– 3.2 | 1.9– 2.0 | Domain Highway (B36) – Tasman Bridge, Sorrel,Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens | Trumpet interchange | |
| Hobart–Glenorchy boundary | New Town–Moonah–Lutanatripoint | 4.1 | 2.5 | Risdon Road -New Town,Lenah Valley,Cornelian Bay,Lutana,Risdon | |
| Glenorchy | Moonah–Lutana boundary | 4.9 | 3.0 | Bowen Road south / Ashbolt Crescent east – Moonah, Lutana | |
| Moonah–Lutana–Derwent Park tripoint | 5.6 | 3.5 | Derwent Park Road – Derwent Park, Moonah, Ridson,Prince of Wales Bay | ||
| Derwent Park | 6.3 | 3.9 | Lampton Avenue – Derwent Park, Prince of Wales Bay | Lampton Avenue east of intersection is left-in/left-out only | |
| Glenorchy–Goodwood boundary | 7.1 | 4.4 | Howard Road south / Renfrew Court north – Derwent Park,Goodwood | ||
| 7.5 | 4.7 | Goodwood Road (B35) –Bowen Bridge | |||
| Glenorchy | 7.6 | 4.7 | Elwick Road – Glenorchy,Tolosa Park | ||
| 8.0 | 5.0 | Loyd Road –Derwent Entertainment Centre | |||
| Rosetta | 9.7– 10.1 | 6.0– 6.3 | Main Road – Berriedale,Rosetta | Left-in/left-out intersection for each carriageway | |
| Berriedale | 10.6 | 6.6 |  Berriedale Road (C615) – Berriedale,Chigwell,Collinsvale | Partial diamond interchange: no exit southbound | |
| Berriedale–Claremont–Chigwell tripoint | 12.4 | 7.7 | Claremont Link Road – Chigwell,Claremont,Cadbury | Diamond interchange | |
| Claremont | 13.6 | 8.5 | Abbotsfield Road – Claremont | Left-in/left-out intersection for each carriageway | |
| 14.8 | 9.2 | Hilton Road -Austins Ferry | Left-in/left-out access southbound | ||
| 15.1 | 9.4 | Upper Hilton Road – Austins Ferry | Left-in/left-out access northbound | ||
| Granton | 17.9 | 11.1 | Black Snake Road south / Main Road east – Granton, Austins Ferry | Left-in/left-out access northbound; entrance ramp southbound | |
| 18.3 | 11.4 | Main Road – Granton, Austins Ferry | Southbound exit only | ||
| 18.5 | 11.5 | Midland Highway (National Highway 1) north /Lyell Highway (A10) west – Bridgewater,Launceston,New Norfolk,Hamilton | Roundabout; northern highway terminus | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
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