Bagdad Bypass

The Bagdad Bypass is a proposed bypass of the Midland Highway, through Bagdad, Tasmania. While not a new proposal, the idea began gaining momentum on the release of the Southern Transport Investment Program in 2007. The road will be initially constructed as a two-lane highway with extra earthworks undertaken to facilitate future duplication of the bypass. The road will be constructed as a grade separated highway and has been designed to seamlessly connect to the Brighton Bypass. In 2010, the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources released 2 potential alignments for public comment. Neither design existed wholly within the existing proclaimed corridor and ultimately, a combination of the two designs was chosen to minimize intrusion into townships while at the same time keep construction costs to a minimum by diverting the future highway away from areas that would require significant earthworks.