Works are now underway on the Far North Queensland’s largest road project, the $481 million Cairns Southern Access Corridor project between Edmonton and Gordonvale.
This Bruce Highway upgrade project is expected to create up to 466 jobs.
“The southern suburbs of Cairns are growing fast and that is why the Australian Government has committed more than $840 million towards upgrading the Cairns Southern Access Corridor from Gordonvale to Cairns CBD.
“Not only will this project duplicate the highway, it will also deliver new service roads and partially close several intersections and direct accesses to existing highways. This will improve traffic flow, increase the speed limit to 100 kilometres per hour and create a safer and more efficient Bruce Highway for the future,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said.
The Edmonton to Gordonvale upgrade will include:
- Duplication of all existing 2-lane sections of the Bruce Highway between Edmonton and Gordonvale to 4 lanes
- A new alignment for the Bruce Highway to the eastern side of the existing highway between Petersen Road and Warner Road
- A new signalised intersection at Petersen Road and upgraded signalised intersections at Draper Road and Riverstone Road
- New service roads that remove local trips from the highway
- Realignment and upgrade of over 4.7 kilometres of the Queensland Rail North Coast Line to accommodate the duplicated highway
- Removal of multiple at grade rail crossings and upgrade of boom gates at other crossings
- New road and rail bridges at Wrights Creek and Stoney Creek
- New Bruce Highway road overpass south of Maitland Road
- Relocation of existing cane rail lines at locations to accommodate the duplicated highway
- A dedicated off-road high-speed cycleway from Riverstone Road to the north of Collinson Creek to tie into the existing cycleway at Thompson Road
- A new cycleway bridge at Collinson Creek and the re-use of existing rail bridges for the cycleway at Wrights Creek and Stoney Creek
“Investing in Queensland infrastructure means creating Queensland jobs, as we unite and recover from COVID-19.
“It’s part of a $1.45 billion roads and transport program for the Far North, that includes the jointly funded $104 million Cairns Southern Access Stage 4 – Kat Street to Aumuller Street project and the $164 million Smithfield Bypass,” Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said.
The Australian and State Governments are working closely to deliver vital infrastructure projects that will help support as well as encourage growth in the Far North.
“Cairns is a great place to live, be active and explore, so it is fantastic this project will also deliver a dedicated cycleway.
“All stages in the Cairns Southern Access Corridor upgrades are delivering a dedicated cycleway and when complete, cyclists will be able to safely ride all the way from Gordonvale into the heart of the Cairns CBD,” Federal Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch said.
According to Speaker for the Queensland Parliament and State Member for Mulgrave Curtis Pitt, works commencing on the 10.5-kilometre upgrade is going to be welcome news for the growing communities in Cairns’s south and to the region’s $9.6 billion economy.
“When the first sod is turned on a project of this scale, it signals a way forward and creates economic benefits for the whole community.
“Together with projects like the $127 million Cairns Shipping Development and Kate Street to Aumuller Street project, we’re strengthening supply chains, bolstering the economy and supporting more than 1,000 jobs,” Mr Pitt said.
From August of this year, traffic conditions on the highway will change intermittently.
Early works will include the removal of vegetation and demolition of structures along the project corridor as well as the establishment of a site office near Kern Street in Gordonvale.
The Cairns Southern Access Corridor Stage 3 is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments, each contributing $381.81 million and $92.19 million respectively.
On October 2019, the HSA Group - comprised of John Holland, Seymour Whyte and AECOM - was awarded the contract to design and build the project, You can read more about it here.
Weather permitting, the Edmonton to Gordonvale project is due to be completed in mid-2023.
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Source: Queensland Government; Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development; Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads
The next stage of the Bruce Highway upgrade is set to begin, with the preferred alignment for the 10-kilometre road duplication between Edmonton and Gordonvale has been released. The $481 million Cairns Southern Access Corridor Stage 3 is set to improve traffic flow as well as road safety south of the city.