Ipswich Motorway Visitor Information Centre opens

Main Roads Minister Warren Pitt, Blair federal MP Shayne Neumann and Member for Inala Annastacia Palaszczuk today officially opened a new state-of-the-art visitor information centre as part of the Darra-Wacol section of the Ipswich Motorway upgrade.

Located at Centenary Highway Park in Darra, the centre offers visitors up-to-date information about the project, three-dimensional displays and images of the project, as well as the opportunity to speak with project staff.

Mr Pitt said the new facility provided the public with the opportunity to learn more about the upgrade.

“This facility provides a great opportunity to reach even more people and is a central point of contact for the community to access information on this vital upgrade,” Mr Pitt said.

"A virtual drive-through will give visitors the opportunity to experience how it will feel to drive on the completed upgrade, and intricate three-dimensional scale models offer an insight into how the upgrade will look."

Member for Oxley Bernie Ripoll said the visitor information centre would serve as an important source of information for local residents and members of the wider community.

“The information provided within the centre gives people the opportunity to see up close the construction activities that are occurring during the $700 million Wacol to Darra upgrade, and the benefits these will have on the local road network," Mr Ripoll said.

"As construction progresses, local residents and visitors to the area will be able to view updated construction progress images and follow the project as each new milestone in the upgrade is delivered."

Mr Neumann said the Wacol to Darra project was one of the many complex and challenging projects under way in the Western Corridor which will service the future needs of this growing region.

"The second Western Corridor transport newsletter, which showcases each Western Corridor project, will be distributed to more than 150,000 residents and businesses in the Western Corridor this month," Mr Neumann said.

Ms Palaszczuk said as part of the Wacol to Darra project, a complex multi-level interchange would be constructed at the Centenary Highway interchange to replace the existing signalised roundabout, in addition to an upgrade of a 3km section of the Ipswich Motorway to a minimum of six lanes.

“The Darra-Wacol project is one of the government’s road infrastructure priorities. The Bligh government is building tomorrow’s Queensland today and we are laying more bitumen on more roads than at any time in this state’s history.

“I would encourage all local residents to visit the centre to learn more about this exciting project.”

The Ipswich Motorway Upgrade: Wacol to Darra Visitor Information Centre will be open to the public between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.

For more information on the Ipswich Motorway upgrade between Wacol and Darra please call 1800 605 410 or visit www.mainroads.qld.gov.au/wacol2darra.

Media contact: Minister Pitt’s Office 3227 8819