Major Rockhampton road projects to get underway with 2019-20 State Budget investment

Major Rockhampton roads are set to be transformed with the help of the $23 billion investment for road, rail and transport infrastructure projects announced earlier this month as part of the 2019-20 State Budget.

“More than 13,500 regional jobs will be supported by that investment, including 1,000 jobs in the Fitzroy region directly linked to roads and rail projects we’re backing over the next four years.

“We know how important it is to provide the local economy with some certainty and we have done that with the major projects that have been prioritised for Rockhampton,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

The Premier added that the major upgrades for Rockhampton will help relieve bottlenecks in growing communities as well as “improve road safety in the Beef Capital”.

Major road projects highlighted in the 2019-20 State Budget - including jointly funded projects by the Federal Government - include:

• $200 million towards the jointly-funded $1 billion Rockhampton Ring Road project
• $157 million to duplicate the Bruce Highway Rockhampton Northern Access Upgrade Stage 1 between Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road and Parkhurst; and safety works at Terranova Drive
• $80 million towards the jointly-funded Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road duplication
• $75 million to duplicate a section of the Capricorn Highway between Rockhampton and Gracemere
• $30 million to further improve and upgrade Rockhampton-Emu Park Road for road train access
• $26.7 million to widen and seal the Bruce Highway between Gentle Annie Road and St Arnauds Creek, south of Rockhampton
• $19 million to build six new overtaking lanes on the Capricorn Highway, between Gracemere and Emerald
• $18.3 million for safety works on the Bruce Highway between Nielsen Avenue and Plentiful Creek, north of Rockhampton
• $14.5 million for widening and safety upgrades on Bajool-Port Alma Road
• $9.4 million to build new overtaking lanes at Plentiful Creek on the Bruce Highway, north of Rockhampton
• $5 million to upgrade the Yeppoon Branch Rail Line

“There’s almost $1.09 billion allocated over four years to Fitzroy region for roads and rail projects in this budget, so local businesses can be assured of a steady pipeline of works in the coming years,” Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said.

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Source: Queensland Government; Mirage News