Road Photos & Information: Tasmania

Huon Highway & Southern Outlet (A6)

Statistics:

• Length: 100 km (Southern Outlet: 13 km / Huon Highway: 87 km)
• Northern Terminus: Brooker Hwy (NH1) / Tasman Hwy (A3) / Macquarie & Davey St (A6), Hobart
• Southern Terminus: Kingfish Beach Road / Lady Bay Road, Southport
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities along route: Hobart, Kingston, Harveytown, Dover, Surges Bay, Geeveston, Port Huon and Franklin.

Route Numbering:

• Current:
• Former:

General Information:

• Huon Highway:

The Huon Highway from Huonville to Geeveston is a significant route servicing industry in the region and a major tourist route to the South West Wilderness.

The original Huon Highway (now known as Huon Road) was a twisty two-lane road skirting around Mount Wellington, but most of this was bypassed. This provided a more direct, and higher traffic-capacity, route between Hobart and the Huon Valley.

• Southern Outlet:

The Southern Outlet bypasses South Hobart and heads south into the mountainous terrain of Mt Nelson to Kingston. The two lanes heading towards Hobart are separated from the southbound lanes because of the mountainous landscape the Southern Outlet travels through. It is a major State Classified Arterial Truck Route.

The Southern Outlet connects with the Channel Highway, the Huon Highway, the Midland Highway and the Tasman Highway.

The Southern Outlet is one of Hobart's more busier Commuter Highwways handling in excess of 31 000 traffic movements per day. *

History:

• 1964: The Hobart Transportation study indicated the need for a transport corridor from Hobart to Kingston, as a result, the construction of the Southern Outlet was planned. *
• 1968: The Southern Outlet constructed as a super-2 expressway from Kingston to the old Huon Highway at Grove.
• 1970s & 80s: Bypassing of Mount Wellington for the Huon Hwy section.
• 1985: The Southern Outlet was upgraded to dual carriageway.
• 2005: Upgrade of the Kingston Interchange, including the construction of a roundabout at the junction of the Huon Highway, Beach Road and the southbound off ramp from the Southern Outlet and the construction of a loop ramp from the new roundabout onto the Southern Outlet for Beach Road northbound vehicles. *

Preview:	Description:
	Advance Directional Sign: Looking southwest at South Hobart on Davey Street as you approach Huon Road (B64). June 2007. Image © Peter Renshaw
	Advance Directional Sign: Northbound on the Southern Outlet approaching the Huon Rd / Davey / Macquarie Street junction at South Hobart, October 2007. Image © Peter Renshaw
	Large Diagrammatic AD Sign: Southbound on the Southern Outlet approaching the interchange for the Channel Hwy (B68) at Kingston, October 2007. Image © Peter Renshaw

*Information courtesy of Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources