When work on $16m Bells Bridge Bruce Highway upgrade will end

Drivers heading north of Gympie will soon be free of delays almost 10 months after work finally started on fixing a dangerous Bruce Highway intersection.

Road-work linked delays on the Bruce Highway immediately north of Gympie will soon be a thing of the past with $16 million safety upgrades expected to finish this month.

More than 337,700 cubic metres of dirt and rock has been excavated and 5100 tonnes of asphalt used as part of the long-awaited safety repairs at the intersection of the Bruce and Wide Bay Highways at Bells Bridge.

Plans to fix the intersection had been in the works since at least 2017.

It took almost three years for ground to break, starting in November, 2020.

Workers are expected to finish the stretch by the end of September, barring unforeseen problems with the weather.

The new roundabout is designed to dramatically cut the number and risk of T-bone crashes at the notorious turn off.

The Queensland Transport Department said at the time the main issue was cars “experiencing long delays turning right out of Wide Bay Highway due to the high volumes of traffic on the Bruce Highway”.

“This is of particular concern for heavy vehicles which require a larger gap in traffic to enter the traffic stream safely.”

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The department rejected a “seagull” styled intersection in favour of a roundabout following public consultation.

This would “significantly reduce” the rate and danger of T-bone crashes at the turn-off.

Queensland Assistant Regional Roads Minister Bruce Saunders said workers were now putting the finishing touches on the upgrade, including line marking, new signs, and minor works at the Spring Valley Rd intersection,

“I’m glad to see drivers are already using the new roundabout,” Mr Saunders said.