Statistics:
- Length:
- 101 km
- Termini:
- Northern: Brooker Av (NH1) and Liverpool St (NH1 and unnumbered), Hobart
- Southern: Kingfish Beach Road (unnumbered) and Lady Bay Road (unnumbered), Southport
- Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route:
- Hobart, Kingston, Huonville, Harveytown, Dover, Surges Bay, Geeveston, Franklin, Castle Forbes Bay, Port Huon, Geeveston, Waterloo, Glendevie, Dover, Strathblaine and Southport
Route Numbering:
- Current: A6
- Former: 6
- Road Authority Internal Classification: 1
- A1010 (Hobart to South Hobart)
- A0168 (Kingston to Southport)
- A0171 (South Hobart to Kingston)
General Information:
A6 is a highway linking Tasmania's Huon Valley with Hobart. There's a number of agricultural and fishing towns along the route, and the road is Australia's southern-most highway, though there are a couple of numbered routes that venture further south.
Southern Outlet:
The Southern Outlet bypasses South Hobart and heads south into mountainous terrain between Mt Nelson and 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 is one of Hobart's more busier commuter highways handling in excess of 31 000 traffic movements per day. 2
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. The bypass provided a more direct, and higher traffic-capacity route between Hobart and the Huon Valley.
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. 2
- 1968: The Southern Outlet constructed as a super-2 expressway from Kingston to the old Huon Highway at Grove.
- 1970s and 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. 2
1 TAS Government, Department of State Growth, State Roads, Asset Information, TRIPS: Tasmanian Road Information Positioning System, December 2020.
2 TAS Government, Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources.