Roundabout to be built at deadly Wide Bay intersection

Tenders have been called to build a new roundabout as part of the $14m Bruce Highway – Wide Bay Intersection Upgrade

Tenders have been called to build a roundabout at the Bruce Highway and Wide Bay Highway intersection.

TENDERS have been called to build a new roundabout at the deadly Bruce Highway and Wide Bay Highway intersection, with construction signalled to start in late 2020.

The roundabout is part of a jointly-funded $14 million Bruce Highway and Wide Bay Highway Intersection Upgrade and will boost road safety at Bell’s Bridge and deliver more than 40 jobs to the region.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said the new roundabout design reflected community feedback and would create a safer environment by slowing traffic and reducing the risk of serious crashes, particularly during peak times.

“An additional $2.6 million of safety works will be delivered with this project including new speed limit warning signs, guard rails and an upgrade to the Spring Valley Road intersection,” Mr McCormack said.

“Other safety upgrades on the Bruce Highway between Meadows Lane and Wide Bay Highway will be done at the same time to minimise disruption and maximise efficiencies.

“We are continuing to roll out these types of major projects right across the country under our $100 billion infrastructure investment pipeline, which is supporting jobs and communities at a time when it’s needed most.”

The roundabout will boost road safety in Bells Bridge and minimise traffic build up. Pictured: A previous crash at Bells Bridge on Wide Bay Hwy

Federal Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien said fixing the notorious intersection to meet the needs of current and future traffic volumes was imperative.

“Motorists are experiencing long delays turning right out of the Wide Bay Highway due to high traffic volumes on the Bruce Highway,” Mr O’Brien said.

“The Gympie bypass won’t be completed until 2024-25 so this intersection needs to be upgraded now to deliver significant safety benefits including reducing the risk and impact of T-bone crashes.”

Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey said getting tenders out now would mean construction would start by the end of the year and encouraged local businesses to get involved.

“The global economy has been hit hard by COVID-19, but Queensland’s strong health response to-date means our state can kickstart the economy quickly, and get on with the job of rolling out a $23 billion pipeline of road and transport upgrades,” Mr Bailey said.

“We listened to the community and worked with them on a new design for this intersection.

“It’ll join a $1 billion upgrade of the Bruce Highway between Gympie and Curra, which will also start soon, and it follows the $384 million upgrade we finished in 2018 from Woondum to Traveston.”

The tender will remain open until 14 August 2020.

Tender documentation for prequalified contractors is available on the QTenders website at https://qtenders.hpw.qld.gov.au/qtenders/.

For more information contact 1300 728 390 or email [e-mail].

The $16.6 million project and safety works are being delivered under the Bruce Highway Upgrade Program, with the Australian Government contributing $13.7 million and the Queensland Government $2.9 million.

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