Bruce Highway between Cooroy to Curra upgrade fast-tracked

The rebuilding of the Bruce Highway between Cooroy and Curra has reached another major milestone, with construction work now underway on straightening and duplicating Section A.

Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister today joined local State MP David Gibson onsite for the ground-breaking ceremony marking the official start of work on the $790 million upgrade of the Highway from south of the Cooroy Southern Interchange to Sankeys Road.

“Just months after completing the upgrade of Section B on time and under budget, we have today taken the next step towards our ultimate goal of duplicating the entire stretch of highway between Cooroy and Curra,” said Mr Albanese.

“At a cost of more than three quarters of a billion dollars, this is a big project which will put almost 1,600 Queenslanders to work, both directly and indirectly, rebuilding yet another vital section of the Bruce.  Indeed, it is part of the record capital works program now been rolling out along the entire length of the road.

“When it comes to Queensland there is no more important road than the Bruce Highway.  That’s why we have significantly increased the amount of Federal funding being invested in it to an unprecedented $5.7 billion.  That’s real money for real projects which will make a real difference.”

The upgrade of Section A is being jointly funded, with the Federal and Queensland governments both contributing $395 million to the project.

Mr Gibson said once completed in 2016, the improvements made will deliver smoother and safer driving conditions for the 20,000 motorists and truck drivers who use this section of highway every day.

“I’m extremely pleased this upgrade has been fast-tracked,” said Mr Gibson.

“As well as duplicating some 13 kilometres of highway, the project will also upgrade the existing Cooroy Southern Interchange and build a new one north of Cooroy.

“New bridges over Six Mile and Skyring creeks, along with a new overpass connecting Black Mountain Range Road to the existing highway, will also be erected.

“These works are vital as this stretch of road has seen 14 fatalities over a 10 year period.”