Queensland’s biggest-ever road upgrade program is set to be rolled out this year, including a $2 billion upgrade of the M1 and Bruce Highway.
Visiting the jointly-funded $812 million Bruce Highway upgrade on the Sunshine Coast, Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Mark Bailey said shovels would hit the ground in 2020 on major projects along the highway.
“As well, there will be billions of dollars’ worth of upgrades for the M1, Capricorn Highway, Ipswich Motorway and Smithfield Bypass,” Mr Bailey said.
“From Weipa to Coolangatta, from the outback to the coast, thousands of tradies are getting on with the job of building new roads.”
He said more than 21,500 jobs would be supported by the $23 billion roads and transport program, including 13,500 jobs for regional Queensland.
“Queenslanders are already seeing major road projects nearing completion in places like Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Central Queensland, Wide Bay, South-East Queensland and across regional Queensland, but that’s just the tip of iceberg,” Mr Bailey said.
“Not only are we building new roads, more than 6,000 tradies are helping to maintain the State’s 33,000-kilometre road network thanks to $1 billion for road maintenance.”
Mr Bailey thanked drivers for their patience and urged them to heed the instructions of road crews as the upgrades got under way.
“We want everyone to get to home safely, including our hardworking road crews,” he said.
