Completion date announced for Gympie Bypass

Completion of the $1.162 billion Gympie Bypass is just weeks away, with confirmation that works are on track to be finished in October 2024, weather and construction conditions permitting.

Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads Bart Mellish and Federal Assistant Minister for Regional Development, Senator Anthony Chisholm will make the announcement today at the official commissioning event at the Gympie Bypass Community Day.

More than 3,000 community members celebrated the milestone on a section of the bypass near the Flood Road interchange, getting the chance to access a part of the new highway before it opens to traffic.

The project has involved constructing a new 26-kilometre, four-lane divided highway between the existing Bruce Highway interchange at Woondum, just south of Gympie, and Curra.

It is the final section of a 62-kilometre, $2.549 billion program of works to upgrade the Bruce Highway between Cooroy and Curra.

Construction of the overall Cooroy to Curra program began in September 2009.

The $1.162 billion Gympie Bypass is jointly funded, with the Australian Government committing $929.6 million and the Queensland Government contributing $232.4 million.

Further details can be found on the Queensland Transport and Main Roads website here (select ‘Section D’).

Quotes attributable to Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King:

“This stretch of highway will improve safety, flood resilience and capacity for motorists as well as meeting the transport needs of the Gympie and Sunshine Coast communities well into the future.”

“We know how important continued investment in major infrastructure upgrades is, and that’s why in this year’s Federal Budget we allocated a further $467 million towards several projects along the Bruce Highway like the Gympie Bypass to ensure they get delivered for Queenslanders.”

Quotes attributable to Federal Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Senator for Queensland, Anthony Chisholm:

“This vital infrastructure project has been a long time coming for the locals and visitors who travel throughout the Gympie region. So, it’s great to be in town today to officially commission the Gympie Bypass and celebrate its impending completion with the community.

“While we’ve experienced some wet weather this week, local construction crews are determined to take advantage of the drier months and good construction conditions to have the bypass open to the public by October this year.

“This is the culmination of 15 years worth of construction on the 62-kilometre Bruce Highway upgrade, and it’s a privilege to celebrate this massive achievement.

“Not only will this stretch of highway improve safety, flood resilience and capacity for motorists, it will also meet the transport needs of the Gympie and Sunshine Coast communities well into the future.”

Quotes attributable to Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Bart Mellish:

“It’s a pleasure to be involved in celebrations for the Gympie Bypass with the community today.

“We are so close to the finish line now, with the final works underway to prepare the new highway for traffic.

“Our construction partners have built 42 bridges at 23 locations, moved more than 6 million cubic metres of earth, and laid over 142 kilometres of pavement and 610,000 tonnes of asphalt.

“This has been a monumental project for the Gympie region, and today’s community event is a way of saying thank you to everyone for their patience during construction.”

Flyover footage: https://owncloud.tmr.qld.gov.au/index.php/s/IhijEypaxEf5ras

Password: GYMPIE

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACTS:

MINISTER KING: Lyndal Curtis - 0497 847 212

ASSISTANT MINISTER CHISHOLM: James Laidler – 0458 729 475

MINISTER MELLISH: Lesley Major – 0419 288 284