Toowoomba Bypass: When one eastbound lane will reopen to traffic

With “significant progress” made on repairs to the Toowoomba Bypass, the contractor responsible for the works has revealed when it plans to reopen part of the eastbound lanes.

Transport and Main Roads has revealed plans to reopen one of the eastbound lanes of the Toowoomba Bypass within the next month.

In a statement, contractor Nexus said it had made “significant progress” on stabilising the cutting that forced the closure of the major thoroughfare in October 2022.

“With a mostly clear forecast ahead and work progressing quickly, we have set the target date

midway through next month to reopen the eastbound lane,” said Nexus CEO James Thewlis said.

According to Nexus, 14,000 cubic metres of material has been removed since repairs on the Bypass began in the middle of December.

There are 50 monitoring devices collecting data on any movement on the cutting, in addition to the 70 double-stacking shipping containers.

Damage to one of the cuttings on the Toowoomba Bypass.

TMR project director Bruce Ollason said the organisation was satisfied with progress on the repairs.

“We want to reinforce our gratitude to the community and the patience they have shown while Nexus and TMR work through this difficult situation,” he said.

“But we can all say now, with the positive start and target date set, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”

It has been estimated the closure has resulted in 1100 heavy vehicles being rerouted through Toowoomba each day.

The extended closure of the eastbound lanes also saw the history of safety violations at the construction site resurface.

“After we finished the job we all breathed a massive sigh of relief,” Construction Forestry Maritime Mining Energy Union Assistant Secretary for Queensland Jade Ingham said earlier this month.

“It was good luck, certainly not good management that nobody was killed on the job.”