Bass Highway, Tasmania facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bass Highway Tasmania
The Bass Highway in Burnie
General information
Type	Highway
Length	273 km (170 mi)
Route number(s)	National Highway 1 Launceston – Burnie A2 Burnie – Marrawah
Former route number	State Route 2
Major junctions
East end	Midland Highway Prospect, Launceston, Tasmania
	Meander Valley Road Illawarra Road Meander Valley Road Birralee Road Highland Lakes Road Mole Creek Road Railton Road Gilbert Street Port Sorell Road Stony Rise Road Turners Beach Road Castra Road Gawler Road Pine Road Mount Street Murchison Highway Mount Hicks Road Stanley Highway Irishtown Road
West end	Arthur River Road Comeback Road Marrawah, Tasmania
Location(s)
Region	Tasmania
Major settlements	Deloraine, Devonport, Ulverstone, Burnie, Wynyard, Smithton
Highway system
Highways in Australia National Highway • Freeways in Australia Highways in Tasmania

The Bass Highway is a really important road in Tasmania, Australia. It connects three big cities in the north of Tasmania: Launceston, Devonport, and Burnie. This highway is named after the Bass Strait, which is the sea between Tasmania and mainland Australia. It's also part of Australia's main road network, called the National Highway. In Tasmania, it's known as National Highway 1 for part of its length.

Where Does the Bass Highway Go?

The Bass Highway travels through many towns and areas. It starts near Launceston and passes through its suburbs.

• Launceston
• Hadspen
• Carrick
• Hagley
• Westbury
• Deloraine
• Elizabeth Town
• Latrobe
• Devonport
• Ulverstone
• Penguin
• Burnie

After Burnie, the highway changes its number to A2, but it's still called the Bass Highway. It continues west through more towns:

• Somerset
• Wynyard
• Smithton
• Marrawah

How the Highway Has Improved

The name "Bass Highway" has been used since 1938. Since the mid-1970s, this highway has been greatly improved. Many sections have been updated to make driving safer and faster.

Bypasses and New Sections

One major improvement was building bypasses. A bypass is a road that goes around a town instead of through its center. This helps reduce traffic in towns and makes journeys quicker.

• In 1977, a new section opened in Burnie. This helped connect the highway to the town's port.
• Also in 1977, a bypass for Devonport was finished. This new road helped traffic flow better around the city.
• The Ulverstone bypass was completed in 1980, making travel smoother through that area.
• In the 1980s, parts of the highway near Burnie and between Devonport and Ulverstone were made wider, with more lanes. This is called duplication.
• A new road was built in 1988 to connect the Bass Highway directly to the Launceston Southern Outlet. This new part is known as the Prospect bypass.
• Bypasses were also opened for Smithton in 1988 and Deloraine in 1990. The Deloraine bypass cost about A$19 million and took five years to build.
• Later, in the late 1980s and early 2000s, more bypasses were completed for Carrick, Hadspen, Hagley, and Westbury.

Old Highway Sections

Some parts of the "old" highway, like the section between Deloraine and Hadspen, are now called Meander Valley Road. This old route is now promoted as a scenic road for tourists to enjoy.

Who Was George Bass?

The Bass Highway, just like the Bass Strait, is named after an explorer called George Bass. He was a British naval surgeon and explorer who made important discoveries in Australia in the late 1700s.