$50m worth of Bruce Hwy upgrades in North QLD will get underway soon

About $50 million worth of resilience works will soon get underway on a flood prone section of the Bruce Highway between Ingham and Innisfail in North Queensland. 

Detailed designs have been completed for improvements to the Gairloch to Ripple Creek section of the highway in the Seymour River Area. The tender for this project is set to be released to market in the coming months, with construction expected to begin next year. 

Improvements will include safety upgrades, wide centreline treatment, replacing culverts to improve drainage, widening the road, and reconstructing the highway to a more resilient standard. 

“These works on the Bruce Highway will make a real difference for North Queenslanders who rely on this route for essential travel, supplies and emergency access. 

“By replacing ageing culverts and strengthening the pavement, we’re ensuring this stretch of highway can better withstand the floods that impact the region year after year,” Federal Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain said. 

“We are committed to building stronger infrastructure, making sure Queensland is better prepared for disasters in the future. 

“For more than a decade this section of road has been a choke point as it floods regularly during the storm season and holds up logistics, so we are going to deliver the road improvements the region has been asking for. 

“Workers will be on-site in the next year building a more durable stretch of road that ensures safer and more reliable travel on the Bruce Highway while reducing the time and cost of road closures and repair works,” QLD Minister for Transport and Main Roads Brent Mickelberg said. 

This project is being delivered as part of the $450 million Queensland Resilience and Risk Reduction Program (QRRRP), which is funded through the joint Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements and administered by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority. 

This is the next section of the Bruce Highway to be upgraded, located north of the $48 million Gairloch Floodway project that is already funded by the Australian Government and is currently in the design phase. 

Meanwhile, the Queensland Government is also working closely with the Australian Government to finalise the scope of the $205 million Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements betterment funding approved to build a more resilient Bruce Highway as well as other state-owned connection roads impacted by the extreme weather event earlier this year. 

“Betterment projects like this are smart investments in our state’s future, using the lessons we’ve learned from past disasters to strengthen us for the future. 

“Our upgrades to the Bruce Highway will be transformational for our state and benefit every Queenslander, particularly in our regions and the north. 

“We can’t stop severe weather from occurring, but we can improve our resilience to its impacts, and that’s what these Gairloch to Ripple Creek road improvements are all about,” QLD Minister for Disaster Recovery Ann Leahy said. 

Source: Queensland Government – Media Statements; Infrastructure Magazine