The Bruce Highway Upgrade between the Maroochydore Road and Mons Road Interchanges has hit a significant milestone with a new, eastern service road bridge over Eudlo Creek now completed.
The major construction contract for the $301.2 million project was awarded to the John Holland Seymour Whyte Joint Venture. Construction started in early June 2020 with completion expected in late 2022.
The project will upgrade both the Maroochydore Road and Mons Road interchanges on the Bruce Highway at Forest Glen. The existing Maroochydore Road and Nambour Connection Road roundabout will be converted to a fully controlled signalised interchange. The project will also include widening Mons Road under the Bruce Highway and relocating on and off-ramp access points.
Two-way service roads will connect the Maroochydore Road and Mons Road interchanges on the eastern and western sides of the Bruce Highway to separate local traffic and improve access to the Forest Glen business precinct.
Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said favourable construction conditions had allowed the project team to make significant progress, with Bruce Highway southbound traffic now diverted onto a completed section of the new eastern service road over Eudlo Creek.
“This upgrade alone is supporting more than 380 direct jobs,” the Minister said.
“To date, there have been about 50,000 training hours undertaken on project.
“There have been 20 new apprentices and trainees employed, and 24 Indigenous workers have worked more than 4960 hours on site.”
Member for Nicklin Rob Skelton said the new, four-lane, eastbound bridge over the highway at the Maroochydore Road interchange was also taking shape, with the bridge girders, deck units and safety barriers in place.
“Work to widen and lengthen the entry and exit ramps to the interchange have started, with major earthworks and drainage upgrades underway.
“When complete, the upgraded interchange improve capacity and feature an on-road, bike lane and a three-metre, shared, pedestrian path.”
The Queensland Government is delivering a $3.9 billion investment in road and transport infrastructure on the Sunshine Coast over the next four years, which will transform the Bruce Highway.
This includes the $932 million Bruce Highway, Caloundra Road to Sunshine Motorway project, contracted to Fulton Hogan and Seymour Whyte in a joint venture with Arup and Jacobs, which is surging towards completion with the finishing touches underway over coming weeks.
The $662.5 million Bruce Highway, Caboolture-Bribie Island Road to Steve Irwin Way upgrade, being delivered by Acconia Infrastructure Project Australia (formerly known as Lendlease Engineering), is well underway, supporting an estimated average of 660 direct jobs over the life of the project.
Further south work has started on the Deception Bay Road Interchange – a $163.3 million Bruce Highway Upgrade awarded to BMD Constructions, which is supporting an average of 270 direct jobs over the life of the project.
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- Contractor selected for $662.5 million Bruce Highway upgrade