Demolition works have started on the Stapley Drive bridge replacement project. The project comes as part of the M1 Pacific Motorway upgrade between Mudgeeraba and Varsity Lakes.
Over the coming weeks, the old bridge will be removed by excavators which will be used to gradually crunch down the structure.
Piling works will then begin to build the foundations for the new bridge.
The new bridge will be both wider and higher than the current bridge and it is expected to open to traffic in early to mid-2020.
State Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said bridge works at Stapley Drive were being conducted offline to minimise impacts to motorway traffic and the local community.
“This project is part of our commitment to build a better M1 and it’s exciting to see the progress being made for Gold Coast motorists,” Mr. Bailey said.
A temporary traffic arrangement is expected to be in place until early 2020.
Works to build part of the new bridge were carried out between mid-2018 and mid-2019 with the project on track for completion mid-2020.
Federal Member for McPherson Karen Andrews said Gold Coast commuters want to get to work and get home efficiently, without sitting in traffic on the M1.
“Once widening work is complete on this stretch of the M1, action will begin on widening the rest of the motorway all the way to Tugun. I’m not interested in just pushing the bottleneck further south, we actually need to fix the M1 all the way through to Tugun, and that’s what we’re doing.”
The Pacific Motorway Upgrade Program, Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes upgrade is jointly funded by the federal and state governments.
The Federal Government committed $110 million to the project and the Queensland Government provided $97.3 million.
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