Major upgrades planned for Yeppoon Road to start in July

A multimillion dollar project to upgrade Yeppoon Road in Central Queensland is set to begin in the middle of the year. Here’s what the upgrades would include. FIND OUT HOW TO HAVE YOUR SAY.

Major upgrades are planned to start this year on one of the region’s busiest stretches of road to improve safety, traffic flow and reduce peak hour congestion.

The $80 million upgrades to Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road are set to get underway in July with works expected to be complete by June 2024.

The project is jointly funded, with the Federal Government providing $64 million towards the project, and the remaining $16 million coming from the State Government.

The works will include the construction of roads to create a four lane carriageway, a new intersection at Cabbage Tree Creek Road, an upgraded intersection at Artillery Rd and Dairy Inn Rd and the relocation of affected Public Utility Plant, including Ergon Energy high voltage assets and gas main.

Upgrades to Yeppoon Rd are expected to begin in July with a EPBC Act referral now sitting with the Federal Government.

Community consultation for the project began in 2020 which helped identify priorities for the targeted upgrades.

On Monday (March 28) invitation for public comment was opened as part of proposal documents being lodged with the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment on the projects potential impacts of native wildlife.

A decision will then be made on whether the project needs to undergo assessment and approval under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

According to the proposal document, the most significant impact would come from vegetation clearing.

Plans for the Byfield turn-off.

“It can be assumed that all areas within the Project Site will require complete clearing during the construction phase, although some areas will be subject to rehabilitation,” the document says.

“Vegetation clearing may impact on least concern, migratory and/or threatened species by removal of habitat, direct mortality during the clearing process, removal of breeding and foraging resources and habitat fragmentation.”

The document lists a number of native animals which could be impacted by the project include Koalas, Ghost Bats, Greater Gliders, and Squatter Pigeons.

“A total of 19.29ha of potential koala habitat was recorded within the Project Site during the field surveys,” the document says.

“Potential habitat is primarily associated with the ‘Eucalyptus woodland on alluvium’ and ‘Eucalyptus open woodland on igneous rocks’ habitat types, that could be utilised by the species for refugia, breeding, foraging and dispersal purposes.”