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U/C: Bruce Highway Upgrade (Queensland)

125K views 730 replies 73 participants last post by  brianc68 
#1 · (Edited)
Its not exactly money for a four lane divided motorway, but better than nothing.

-----------------------------------
MEDIA RELEASE: The Hon Anthony Albanese MP
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport,Regional Development and Local Government

16 March 2010 - AA0129/2010

Bruce Highway Safety Package: Round One Projects Approved
http://www.minister.infrastructure.gov.au/aa/releases/2010/March/AA129_2010.htm

Work will start immediately on the first group of projects to be funded from the Rudd Labor Government's $250 million Bruce Highway Safety Package.

Totalling close to $24 million, the first round of funding will fix 35 black spots, with projects varying from intersection upgrades to new signage and line-markings to the clearing of roadside hazards.

See attached maps and table for the details and locations of approved projects.

The projects were chosen following a detailed assessment of where accidents have regularly occurred over the last five years as well as the nature and cause of each of them.

The Safety Package is just one part of the $2.6 billion the Rudd Labor Government is investing in the Bruce Highway, one of the longest and most important sections of the national road network used by up to 170,000 vehicles a day.

In fact, the investment we're making in this road is more than twice what our predecessors spent over a similar period of time.

Major upgrades already underway on the Bruce Highway include:

  • Duplication of the section between Cooroy and Curra;
  • Upgrade of the southern approaches to Mackay; and
  • Construction of the new Townsville Port Access Road.
Further funding allocations from the Bruce Highway Safety Package will be announced later in the year.




 
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#144 ·
To be honest I don't know why we need an interchange here. Couldn't all access come from Steve Irwin Way with one bridge or underpass across the highway. It would be significantly cheaper and from what I can tell it is only for state forest access.
 
#150 ·
^^
Traffic moving at 70-80km/h during peak is certainly nothing to complain about though.

The RACQ certainly doesn't agree with you. Anyone who drives along that road regularly (or anyone who listens to any of the traffic reports) knows that the southbound Bruce Hwy turns into a car park at Anzac Ave most morning peaks.




 
#154 ·
Sunbus617 said:
I've travelled alongside this road and now drive on it (previously used PT for nearly all trips but now have to drive down on some days due to work requirements & in some cases cheaper). The traffic jam is usually always around the North Lakes area. It is smooth sailing between Caboolture and Caloundra, and the money is better spent fixing the quality of that stretch of road first before any upgrades.

The only times that the Caboolture-Caloundra stretch ever gets traffic is during the start, the middle of and the end of School Holidays, that's it.

At most there may be the occasional 70-80 stop start between Caboolture and the Toorbul/Beerburrum turnoffs outside of School Holidays, as another had pointed out.
Riiight... So the only road connecting a city of 2.2 million people with a city of 350k less than 100km away only needs 4 lanes.. That would be a (western) world first!!

The current 60,000vpd is at the limit of what is possible on a normal 4 lane motorway.
 
#155 · (Edited)
I didn't say that the Sunshine Coast didn't need the upgrade. I just said that there are other priorities ahead of the 6-lane upgrade between Caboolture and Caloundra, such as fixing the quality of the road between Caloundra and Caboolture, which the southbound lanes are in poor quality on parts of the highway. I drive on it weekly to know about it.

Caboolture to Caloundra will need a upgrade eventually, but there are other priorities and projects (such as fixing the blackspots on other parts of the Bruce Highway) that would be ahead of this upgrade at the moment.

EDIT to add: At most, my prediction would be the 6-laning of Caboolture to Elimbah/Donnybrook (Steven Irwin Way) might be done sooner to solve the Sunday afternoon jam on that section, as well as fixing the road quality on the southbound lanes between Elimbah and Caloundra turnoff.

I would even argue the North Coast Line rail duplication from Beerburrum to Landsborough should get priority ahead of the Caboolture-Caloundra 6-lane project (to remove more trucks off the Bruce Highway and increase the rail freight capacity to North Queensland), but that is for another thread, as this thread focuses on the Bruce Highway.
 
#157 ·
Once the Gateway between the Pine River and Nudgee is at least 6 lanes and the North Lakes merge is brought down to the bridge I'd say traffic will flow faster through North Lakes. The fixed speed camera at Burpengary is a problem as well thanks to some drivers thinking they have to slow down to 80km/h creating a knock on effect.

I'd rather see the Sunshine Motorway between Kawana Way and Nicklin Way become 4 lanes before the Caboolture to Caloundra stretch becomes 6.

Isn't the Bells Creek interchange for the future Caloundra connection road?
 
#158 · (Edited)
There is also the fixed speed camera (which also doubles up as a point to point camera) at the Moby Vics Glasshouse turnoff on the Northbound lanes.

My two picks would be 6-lane Caboolture to Steve Irwin Way turnoff (Elimbah/Donnybrook) with a resurfacing of the highway between Elimbah and Caloundra turnoff. That should at least solve the Sunday afternoon southbound jam between Elimbah and Caboolture during the Spring-Summer months.

The second would be the North Coast rail duplication & realignment from Beerburrum to Landsborough to increase rail freight capacity to North Queensland, which allows the removal of more trucks off the Bruce Highway to freight rail, as well as improve passenger service reliability on the corridor (with the potential to increase passenger services to Landsborough as the deliveries of the NGR rollingstock permits).

Isn't the Bells Creek interchange for the future Caloundra connection road?
Close but no cigar. The Caloundra Connection Road turnoff has the proposed turnoff just north of it. Bells Creek does form a part of the Caloundra South development though.
 
#161 ·
madmax said:
My pick is finish Cooroy to Curra ASAP and then continue on to points North at an accelerated rate. Not very popular with the weekend warriors heading to the beach but more important for Queensland overall.

So far they've managed to complete a grand total of 12km of Cooroy to Curra since the project started 10 years ago. At this rate the duplication will reach Maryborough by the year 2114, Rockhampton by the year 2430, and Townsville just in time for the year 3032. This pathetic attempt is truly a national disgrace.

If they hurry maybe they can get to Townsville before the next millennium.
I certainly agree the Cooroy to Curra completion is ahead of 6 laning Caboolture to Caloundra in priority. But both are high priority.

You're right that the progress on Cooroy to Curra is abysmally slow.

Duplication to Maryborough is starting to become more urgent too, but as you say, at this rate it'll take a hundred years.
 
#162 ·
My top priorities for the Bruce highway are:
1) finish duplicating Cooroy to Curra
2) Duplicate Curra to Maryborough
3) Widening from Caloundra Rd to Sunshine Motorway to 6 lanes
4) Rockhampton Bypass
5) Mackay Bypass
6) Widening from Caboolture to Caloundra Rd
7) Duplication from Maryborough to Childers
 
#163 · (Edited)
I generally agree. A Rocky bypass would also be good, all be it very expensive.

I also wonder if we need to do final designs on any minor upgrades (unless it is completely unreasonable) to ensure we don't need to do them again.

For example, they are 'fixing' the Bruce Highway at the Maryborough bypass, however they are just improving the intersection at Walker Street and adding some improvements in the area. Why not spend the extra now and upgrade the bypass to a 4 lane motorway standard?
 
#165 ·
I generally agree. A Rocky bypass would also be good, all be it very expensive.
After Cooroy-Curra, Rockhamption should be top priority as its easily the most prominent and time wasting city between the Sunshine Coast and Townsvile. Mackay already has 2 bypasses/rat-runs (one via Glenella Rd and another via Marian), which also can become good alternatives during floods and disasters.

Rockhamption does not have any alternatives, and the Bruce Hwy gets cut when the city floods (its a really long way around)

As for the cost, a Rockhamption bypass to the west could be built to also double as a flood barrier or levee, which could redirect floodwaters to the south of the city. If construction starts this month it might just be finished in time to abate Rockhamptons next great flood.

4 lane sections between Nudgee and Sunshine Mwy should go directly to eight lanes, often by simply building a 4 lane duplicate parallel to the existing road (similar to the Gateway Bridge, Pacific Mwy etc), switch to the new road, then upgrade the old one. Theres planty of empty space along the route to do it. Faster construction and less disruption. Building motorways one lane at a time is a waste of everyones time and money. The current rate of progress would see this section finished by 2050 using Madmax formula

As for 'final designs on any minor upgrades', i dont think the Bruce is any different to other major highway upgrades eg. leaving behind bypasses of former bypasses and tearing up infrastructure even if only a year or two old.

.
 
#167 ·
I've just driven back from Brisbane last week to Townsville. If any city north of SEQ needs a bypass it is certainly Rockhampton and not so much Mackay. Rockhampton is just one massive truck stop atm, trucks throughout the entire city that are either on route to the north or south. There is plenty of activity to the south of Rockhampton at the moment, taking what normally would be a two hour drive into three. Improvements and duplication's have already been made to Mackay from the south and it certainly wasn't as busy with trucks as it was in Rockhampton. The problem I have though, is that these cities are both relatively small and with the exception of Rockhampton (truck stop) take no less then 10 minutes to travel through before you're back on the Bruce highway, so do they need to be bypassed? I haven't been to a city before with such a high concentration of heavy vehicles on local streets as what were in Rockhampton.
 
#168 ·
Yes, exactly. If you've just managed to survive the long arduous treck up to Rocky then you've had enough: you'll head straight into town for a cold one. The last thing you'll do is bypass the town and keep driving.

Fix the road to these places first so the trip isnt so burdensome, then a bypass might be needed.
 
#171 ·
Completely agree. It also removes more conflict points per kilometre and reduces the impact of through vehicles on local residents.

It is only when the highway is truely awful, such as south and north of Gympie where I would disagree, however this could just be classed as an extended bypass anyway.
 
#172 ·
Macca-GC said:
My top priorities for the Bruce highway are:
1) finish duplicating Cooroy to Curra
2) Duplicate Curra to Maryborough
3) Widening from Caloundra Rd to Sunshine Motorway to 6 lanes
4) Rockhampton Bypass
5) Mackay Bypass
6) Widening from Caboolture to Caloundra Rd
7) Duplication from Maryborough to Childers
Yep I generally agree.

I know it's not part of the Bruce and not applicable to this thread but I'd also throw in a Maryborough north bypass and duplication from this to Hervey Bay at 6.5, ie before the Maryborough to Childers.
 
#173 ·
I agree with that also. I'm amazed this road hasn't been duplicated yet! There should be an exit about 2-3km north of the Mary River with a duplicated road the entire stretch to Hervey Bay....and grade separated. Get rid of that nasty roundabout where it intersects with Torbanlea - Pialba Road
 
#174 ·
KJBrissy said:
I generally agree. A Rocky bypass would also be good, all be it very expensive.

I also wonder if we need to do final designs on any minor upgrades (unless it is completely unreasonable) to ensure we don't need to do them again.

For example, they are 'fixing' the Bruce Highway at the Maryborough bypass, however they are just improving the intersection at Walker Street and adding some improvements in the area. Why not spend the extra now and upgrade the bypass to a 4 lane motorway standard?
Yes! It's so annoying how they do these patch ups rather than invest the money in the ultimate solution. The Walker St intersection is earmarked for an overpass in the plans so why didn't they just do that now. The work they've just done will be wasted.

It also drove me nuts the money they spent on the Bruce THROUGH Gympie a few years ago instead of accelerating the actual bypass. Waste of millions.
 
#176 ·
^^One incident and it's a 20km long jam if it is at the right time. There are many people living in one city and working in another.


It also drove me nuts the money they spent on the Bruce THROUGH Gympie a few years ago instead of accelerating the actual bypass. Waste of millions.
I think the rationale for that one was that it was needed regardless of whether the bypass was built or not. Not 100% sure on that one though.
 
#175 ·
KJBrissy said:
I agree with that also. I'm amazed this road hasn't been duplicated yet! There should be an exit about 2-3km north of the Mary River with a duplicated road the entire stretch to Hervey Bay....and grade separated. Get rid of that nasty roundabout where it intersects with Torbanlea - Pialba Road
Yes agree. I hate that roundabout.

I have read that traffic volumes on the Maryborough - Hervey Bay Road already exceed the accepted levels for a two lane highway.
 
#178 ·
crazyknightsfan said:
The roundabout at the Torbanlea-Pialba Road is only a few years old. What's so bad about it?
My concern with it is the vast majority of traffic is heading between Maryborough and Hervey Bay. So it's disrupting that traffic for a much smaller feeder road. They had to do something because it was dangerous, but a flyover of the Mbro - Hervey Bay Rd would have been better.
 
#179 ·
^^Agree.

They've essentially plonked a roundabout in the middle of the highway. I know it is more expensive to build a grade separated interchange, but I always hate roundabouts on highways.

It connects the roads going into Hervey Bay from the north and the south. Booral Road (the eastern exit) connects into the back of Hervey Bay and the Airport. Essentially the 4 roads go to the following locations:

- Hervey Bay Centre,
- Hervey bay Airport and Marina
- Maryborough and Bruce Highway South
- Bundaberg and Bruce Highway North
 
#181 ·
In the meantime, it looks like it will highly used for a while until sections A, C and D of Cooroy-Curra are completed. Gympie's economy isn't exactly in a strong position, so I don't see the bypass doing much for Gympie itself other than quieter roads.
 
#183 ·
madmax said:
I'm just completely aghast at the apparent cost of these projects and the sloth-like slowness in their progression.

Consider the US Interstate system (~77000km in length) was built (more or less) over a 35 year time span. That's about 2000km per year, and Queensland can manage a mere 1.2km per year??? :eek:hno:

Also the cost is so outrageous that it borders on the absurd. The design--just the design--for section C is $52 million. That's almost $5 million per km just for the design!!! That doesn't even get you one single turned over piece of sod.

The US Interstate system was built (according to Wikipedia) at an average cost of $6.5 million per km. USD I know, you can't directly compare, but it seems completely bizarre that for the same amount of money (more or less) it costs in Queensland for the design you can have in the States a completed Interstate ready to drive on.
I agree with you. There's something really amiss with the costs, and someone is making a lot of money.
 
#187 ·
It is still hard to understand why. If you see how they used to do it the job was more labour intensive and capital was not as efficient, we should have had cost reductions per km, not increases. I know some technical standards are lifted but if you look at the cuttings on the M1/F3 through Mt White efc in the old days, that must have cost a fortune yet now we are told a bit of vanilla road is much more expensive.

I worry there is too much:

-Nimby induced working hour restrictions
-too much paperwork
-too much recurrent or base funding of government departments that is disguised as project and asset costs.
 
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