$1.162bn Gympie Bypass opens: So what’s next for town’s key roads

A massive shift in traffic movement on local roads and through busy intersections leading to and from the Bruce Hwy Bypass of Gympie could be about to create traffic chaos in parts of the city after last night’s opening.

Tuesday night’s opening of the new stretch of the Bruce Highway at Gympie will bring an end to many questions, but raise an entirely new set about other roads about to take an influx of traffic.

Tuesday night’s opening of the $1.162billion Gympie Bypass is about to bring an end to years of questions, but create a range of new ones as the region’s traffic finds entirely new ways in and out of the city.

Thousands of cars began driving entirely new routes through and away from the region thanks to the historic project.

This radical shift to traffic flow is expected to bring new headaches to other roads in the region, raising questions as to what plans are in place to upgrade them to accommodate those changes, and who is paying.

In a media release on Tuesday, the Gympie Regional Council said work had already finished on one potential trouble spot.

An almost-1km stretch of Flood Rd, one of the main interchange points on the Bypass at the southern end of the 26km stretch, has been upgraded from single to dual lane at a cost of $1.65 million.

Police confirmed the Gympie Bypass opened on Tuesday night between 11.30pm and midnight.

The project was funded from the federal government.

The impending opening of the new stretch of the Bruce Highway at Gympie will bring an end to many questions, but raise an entirely new set about other roads about to take an influx of traffic including a single lane bridge at Hall Rd.

In their statement a council spokeswoman said the upgraded would improve access to the Bypass.

Questions still remain about several other roads soon be host to a huge increase in traffic, some of it heavy.

These include Channon St, the Gympie Connection Rd, Horseshoe Bend, Stuart Terrace and Hall Rd, which still had a single lane bridge cross the North Coast railway line.

The roads were highlighted in a 2023 council report compiled as part of its work toward a new town plan.

Mayor Glen Hartwig said Tuesday the council had raised the roads of concern with the state government and “the state’s view is that we will see what the traffic flow looks like after the Bypass is open”.

On Tuesday Mayor Glen Hartwig said these outstanding roads had been raised with Transport and Main Roads, along with the intersection of Brisbane Rd and Graham St and the Cootharaba Rd intersection.

“(The) council has advocated consistently for a number of years but has not seen the allocation from the state government to make our road network more usable,” Mr Hartwig said.

“The state’s view is that we will see what the traffic flow looks like after the bypass is open.”

He said the single lane Hall Rd bridge had been raised as something in need of upgrading at the same time the Bypass was built but “neither QR (Queensland Rail) or TMR seem to be able to priorities budget allocations in this bottle neck”.

“I feel many of these intersections are in need of upgrades now and the Bypass traffic flow change will not improve the situation,” Mr Hartwig said.

“Gympie needs this work done to assist our growing region.

“The upgrades are essential, we have been neglected for far too long.”

Originally published as $1.162bn Gympie Bypass opens: So what’s next for town’s key roads