Bruce Highway – Mackay Ring Road – Stage 1

Project description

The project will involve construction of a ring road in Mackay between Stockroute Road and the intersection of the Bruce Highway and Bald Hill Road.  The scope includes construction of:

• a two lane, 11.3km, limited access rural highway style deviation from the Bruce Highway at Stockroute Road to Bald Hill Road
• major junctions providing strategic connections to existing and future road networks, including connection points at the Bruce Highway in both directions, at the existing Peak Downs Highway and the proposed future Peak Downs Highway alignment
• 13 new bridges, including major crossings of the Pioneer River and Fursden Creek, which will be built to a one in 100 year flood immunity
• nine overpasses of existing local roads and the cane-tramway networks 

The project will also include early works for the Mackay Ring Road - Stage 2 project, including concept designs and construction of two new underpass bridges, as well as entry and exit ramps to connect the Stages 1 and 2 of the Mackay Ring Road with the co-located Mackay Northern Access Upgrade.

Benefits

The Mackay Ring Road – Stage 1 project will enhance capacity, safety and accessibility of the road network in Mackay. It will also reduce accidents and improve travel times by avoiding 13km of low speed urban roadway with 10 sets of traffic signals and over 200 private accesses. It will also improve freight efficiency by reducing travel time for bypassing traffic.

Funding

The Australian Government has committed up to $397.9 million towards the project, in partnership with the Queensland Government.

Timetable

Construction commenced in September 2017, and was completed in September 2020.

Project last updated: 13 Oct 2020