St Marys Pass is a curvey road in Tasmania. The road has a hiking track when entering the pass. Convict labour built the trail built back in the 1840s. The road carries the Esk Highway, and serves traffic from St Marys to Falmouth and to the East Coast of Tasmania.
History St Marys Pass was built by convict labour between 1843 and 1846. The road was built to connect traffic from the Fingal Valley to the East Coast. Around 300 convicts were stationed near the Grassy Bottom for the project. It serves as a historic, scenic route through the mountain.
The road serves traffic from the Fingal Valley to the East Coast with gravel roads connecting to the road and gullies on the side of St Patrick's Head Mountain.
Before 1991 the Tasman Highway went through St Marys Pass and out of Elephant Pass Road since there was no coastal route connected between Chain of Lagoons to Falmouth. On 2 December 1991 the bypass for St Marys opened to traffic. Care was taken during construction to protect the Aboriginal middens.
Replacement St Marys Pass experienced landslides and rockfalls throughout the previous years. In 2024, the Tasmanian Government announced seven new routes to replace the existing road.
Planned routes Red Route - Upper Scamander Orange Route - Lower German Town Road Extension Blue Route - TasNetworks Powerline Yellow Route - Gillies Road Extension Green Route - Alternate Gillies Road Extension Purple Route - Maintain Existing Route plus Ten Year Upgrade Purple Route Two - Maintain Existing Route Controversy The new route to replace the already existing route of St Marys Pass is controversial due to it going to apparently cost A$2.7 Billion or A$3 Billion to reroute St Marys Pass which is more than the proposed Macquarie Point Stadium in Hobart which is approximately A$1 Billion or A$1.7 Billion.
See also
Elephant Pass Road
References