Flood Rd interchange work finishes at $1bn Gympie Bypass milestone

The billion dollar Gympie Bypass has reached a key milestone and passed its first big test, though its finish date is now more likely to be late 2024.

The mammoth effort of moving more than a million cubic metres of dirt has yielded results with the first of three interchanges finally finished on the $1bn Gympie Bypass.

Transport and Main Roads project manager Mark Asang said it was “satisfying” to see the finished interchange after 18 months of work on it.

“Approximately 1mn cubic metres of dirt have been moved out of here south in the Six Mile Creek floodplain, which will provide the Q100 flood immunity which the whole Bypass will have,” Mr Asang said.

“That was tested in our recent flooding events.

“We were glad to see the alignment was high and in a 130-year flood.”

“The designers got it right there.”

Work on the Gympie Bypass looking south from the Flood Rd interchange bridge.

Mr Asang said work on the bypass was now “just over the halfway point”.

This meant its opening might be closer to the end of 2024 than its middle.

“We’ve still got a fair bit to go,” Mr Asang said.

“We’ve had a lot of challenges along the way, with the pandemic starting … basically straight after we awarded the contract, there’s been supply issues and resourcing issues … and on top of that we’ve had the major flooding events.

“We’ve still got two wet seasons to go.

“This one has been all right but you never know what the next one is going to be like.”

The new interchange connects Flood, Penny and Noosa roads to the bypass.

The bridge at the interchange will be open to traffic from Monday, March 27, 2023.

A media release from Transport Minister Mark Bailey’s office said the 40km/h speed limit on sections of Flood and Noosa roads will remain “for some time” to allow for construction to continue.

The bridge, which runs across the new bypass, will be open to traffic from Monday March 27, 2023.

Federal Transport Minister Catherine King was “excited” to see progress on the bypass, which she said would support an average of 570 jobs throughout construction.

“Investment in projects like this across Queensland gives Australians the safe road connections they need and deserve while creating jobs and unlocking economic growth – for the broader Wide Bay and Sunshine Coast regions in this case.”

State Transport Minister Mark Bailey said the bypass would “save lives, enhance the commuter experience and freight efficiency, and improve flood immunity for the Gympie region”.

“The new bypass is designed to withstand a one-in-100-year flood event – but let‘s hope we never experience that,” Mr Bailey said.,

“The major flood of March 2022 was well below our new highway pavement and bridge levels, proving we’re building this new highway right.”