Cyclists are set to have an easier time crossing Hobart's Tasman Bridge, as plans for the first major upgrades in almost 50 years are unveiled.
The Tasmanian Government has released long-awaited concept designs for the $130 million upgrades for the bridge linking Hobart's eastern and western shores.
The cost will be shared evenly by the state and federal governments.
Key improvements on the agenda are providing 3.5m pathways on each side of the bridge, heightened safety barriers, upgrades to maintenance infrastructure, and feature lighting.
The plans are expected to make walking and cycling across the bridge safer and more accessible, given the pathways currently in place were initially designed to be maintenance walkways rather than public thoroughfares.
Tasmania's Bicycle Network has been lobbying for safer cycling paths on the bridge for years.
A 2020 incident saw a woman in her mid-forties sustain significant head injuries after coming off her bicycle on the narrow path, with the barrier to traffic only at handlebar height.
The Tasman Bridge, one of the key arterial routes into the Hobart CBD, will also be structurally strengthened.
The upgrade is expected to be complete by 2025.
The Tasman Bridge was built and opened in the early 1960s.
It will be the bridge's first major upgrade since a section collapsed in 1975 when it was hit by the bulk carrier Lake Illawarra.
Several pylons were hit by the ship as it travelled towards the zinc works, causing almost 130 metres of the bridge to collapse into the river, sinking the ship.
Five motorists and seven crew on board the vessel were killed and the city of Hobart was cut in two.
The bridge reopened in 1977 after reconstruction works.
Public comment on the plan for the upgrade is open until July 19.
