The $1.162 billion Gympie Bypass is just weeks away from opening, it was revealed at an official commissioning event on Saturday.
Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads Bart Mellish and Federal Assistant Minister for Regional Development Senator Anthony Chisholm confirmed the project was on track for completion in October, weather and construction conditions permitting.
More than 3000 people attended Saturday’s community day event, getting the chance to access a part of the new highway before it opens to traffic.
The project has involved constructing a new 26km, four-lane divided highway between the existing Bruce Highway interchange at Woondum, just south of Gympie, and Curra.
It is the final section of a 62km, $2.549 billion program of works to upgrade the Bruce Highway between Cooroy and Curra.
Construction of the overall Cooroy to Curra program began in September 2009.
The Gympie Bypass has been jointly funded by the Australian Government, which has committed $929.6 million, and the Queensland Government, which has contributed $232.4 million.
“This vital infrastructure project has been a long time coming for the locals and visitors who travel throughout the Gympie region,” Mr Chisholm said.
“It’s great to be in town today to officially commission the Gympie Bypass and celebrate its impending completion with the community.
“While we’ve experienced some wet weather this week, local construction crews are determined to take advantage of the drier months and good construction conditions to have the bypass open to the public by October this year.
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“This is the culmination of 15 years’ worth of construction on the 62km Bruce Highway upgrade, and it’s a privilege to celebrate this massive achievement.”
Mr Mellish said he was excited to be involved in the community day.
“We are so close to the finish line now, with the final works underway to prepare the new highway for traffic,” he said.
“Our construction partners have built 42 bridges at 23 locations, moved more than six million cubic metres of earth and laid over 142km of pavement and 610,000 tonnes of asphalt.
“This has been a monumental project for the Gympie region, and today’s community event is a way of saying thank you to everyone for their patience during construction.”
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