Highly anticipated Townsville Ring Road revamp taking shape

Four new bridges and overpasses are being constructed during Stage 5 of the Townsville Ring Road project.

CONTROVERSIAL changes to the Townsville Ring Road Stage 5 are taking shape with hundreds of thousands of tonnes of material already delivered to build new carriageways and bridge approaches.

Four new bridges and overpasses are being constructed as part of the $230m project.

Ring Road Stage 5 plans garnered significant backlash from some residents who felt the changes wouldn’t work for the community.

The changes included closing the Riverway Drive off-ramp, and building two new on-ramps and two new off-ramps onto Beck Drive to cater for both east and westbound traffic.

However, state Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the end result would improve safety and efficiency for road users and better access between the Upper Ross and the Ring Road.

He said the upgrade would benefit locals heading to and from key employment areas such as the hospital and the university.

Mr Bailey said 200,000 tonnes of material had already been delivered for the new Bruce Highway carriageway and bridge approaches.

In the first six months of work, bridge piling has been completed on two of the four major structures.

“The project will duplicate the Ring Road between Vickers Bridge and Shaw Road to four lanes and install new bridges and overpasses at the Bohle and Little Bohle Rivers, and at Beck Drive and Hervey Range Developmental Road,” Mr Bailey said.

Deputy Prime Minister and infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Minister Barnaby Joyce said the upgrades would ensure the strategic transport needs of the region were met into the future.

“More than 17,000 vehicles use this section each day, 12 per cent of which are freight vehicles,” Mr Joyce said.

Thuringowa MP Aaron Harper said local contractors and suppliers would reap the benefits of the project.

“We have 39 local businesses currently engaged and completing works on the Ring Road upgrade, with more than 80 per cent of spend to date going to local suppliers and contractors,” Mr Harper said.

“That’s more than $40 million that has been injected into Townsville and the surrounding region, benefiting local companies employing local workers.”

Herbert MP Phillip Thompson said the project was extremely important for the region.

“There’s nothing more important when it comes to our roads than safety, and the Bruce Highway is the busiest and most critical road in Queensland,” Mr Thompson said.

“That is why the Australian Government is investing 80 per cent of the cost of this project – that’s $184 million – as part of our $10 billion 15-year Bruce Highway Upgrade Program to improve road safety, capacity and flood resilience between Brisbane and Cairns.”

The project is expected to be complete in 2023.

Originally published as Highly anticipated Townsville Ring Road revamp taking shape