$590 Million granted for Bruce Highway Upgrade

Lend Lease Engineering has been granted the final major contract to complete the Bruce Highway Cooroy to Curra ‘Section A’ upgrade. The development will take place between the Cooroy Southern Interchange and Sankeys Road.

The $590 million dollar project is a major stage of a large-scale program initiated in 2008 by the Department of Transport and Main Roads . The Bruce Highway (Cooroy to Curra) Upgrade will involve a 61km realignment of the Bruce Highway, including a bypass of Gympie.

Queensland Transport Minister, Scott Emerson said that the highway's capacity will be doubled by the new design, which will deliver two lanes in each direction along the Cooroy bypass.

“Additionally, new bridges will be built over Six Mile Creek and the existing Cooroy Southern Interchange will be upgraded,” Mr. Emerson said.

The Queensland and Federal Governments have each contributed $295 million to Lend Lease Engineering for the completion of a 13.5km, 4-lane divided highway between the existing interchange South of Cooroy.

This stage of this project will involve moving over 600, 000m3 of earth, installing 5km of drainage pipes and layering over 200,000t of asphalt.

The high-priority development scheme aims to address the safety and traffic needs of the Bruce Highway and create a more efficient route for the Sunshine Coast and Gympie regions. The Department has indicated section A Section A is expected to be complete by 2016.

Mr. Emerson said that the state and federal governments were working to deliver vital infrastructure projects that “give Queensland the modern motorway it desperately needs.”

These final developments have been rated as high complexity, due to the proximity their proximity to traffic and Yurol State Forrest. 

Over the next few months, Lend Lease Engineering will be conducting a number of surveys, constructing site access and installing environmental controls.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads has stated that it will continue to engage with stakeholders and the community throughout the project’s success. 

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