Plans on show for Caloundra Road to Sunshine Motorway Bruce Highway upgrade

The design layout for the $929.3 million Bruce Highway upgrade between Caloundra Road and the Sunshine Motorway will be on show at public displays on the Sunshine Coast over coming weeks.

Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester said the project involved upgrading the highway to six lanes between Caloundra Road and the Sunshine Motorway.

“The upgrade will include major upgrades to both interchanges, increase capacity and provide safer, more efficient travel for people and industry along this stretch,” Mr Chester said.

Queensland Main Roads, Road Safety and Ports Minister Mark Bailey said the displays were a great opportunity for the community to learn about the project and see how it was progressing.

“This upgrade is vital for the continued development of the Sunshine Coast and the design layout is a big win for the community supporting nearly 700 jobs over the life of the project,” Mr Bailey said.

“It includes several key innovations and refinements that improve on the July 2015 revised layout, one of which is the transformation of the existing Caloundra Road interchange into an Australian-first, diverging diamond Interchange.

“My department and I have also worked hard to minimise the impact to the Beerwah State Forest and earlier this month the Queensland Government announced we’d almost doubled the size of Mooloolah River National Park to conserve biological diversity of the area.”

Federal Member for Fisher Andrew Wallace said that beyond the safety and time benefits for local motorists, the project was another critical part in the wider Bruce Highway upgrade programme.

“The Bruce Highway is Queensland’s major north-south road corridor, and upgrading the highway will allow Australia’s freight industry to operate more efficiently,” Mr Wallace said.

“Those interested in the project can register for free SMS and email service for updates about the project, and can visit display locations to find out more.”

Public displays and staffing times are provided below.

Staffed public displays

-        Chancellor Park Marketplace (outside Woolworths)

18 University Way, Sippy Downs

• Saturday 26 November 2016, 10am to 2pm
• Wednesday 30 November 2016, 10am to 2pm
• Thursday 1 December 2016, 4pm to 7pm.

-        Stockland South (outside Woolworths)

20 Bowman Road, Caloundra

• Saturday 3 December 2016, 10am to 2pm
• Tuesday 6 December 2016, 10am to 2pm
• Thursday 8 December 2016, 4pm to 7pm.

Fixed public displays (from 21 November until Friday 16 December 2016)

• Beerwah Library, 25 Peachester Road, Beerwah
• Caloundra Library, 8 Omrah Avenue, Caloundra
• Kawana Library, 30 Nanyima Street, Buddina
• Maleny Library, 5 Coral Street, Maleny
• Maroochydore Library, 44 Sixth Avenue, Cotton Tree
• Mobile Library, servicing the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

The layout will continue to be further refined as detailed design progresses. Preliminary construction activities are expected to start in late 2016, followed by major construction in mid-2017.

Construction is expected to be completed in late 2020, weather permitting.

The project is funded on an 80/20 basis under the Infrastructure Investment Program with the Australian Government contributing $743.4 million and the Queensland Government contributing $185.9 million. For more information or to register to receive project updates, visit http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/brucehwycaloundra2sunshinemwy

Media Contacts

For Mr Bailey:                       Zoe Russell                       0428 079 640