$70m upgrade set to ease congestion
A MAJOR bottleneck on a busy Townsville road is set to be upgraded as part of a $70m state government project.
Stuart Drive will undergo a major overhaul to ease congestion and improve safety for both motorists and pedestrians, with the bridge connecting Idalia and Rosslea to be duplicated.
The $70m is on top of the $46.4m that had already been committed to upgrade the road and intersection of Mervyn Crossman Drive and Fairfield Waters Drive.
Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said since the upgrades to the intersection were promised during the 2020 state election campaign, Mundingburra MP Les Walker had been pushing for the bridge to be upgraded too.
Mr Bailey said the choke point over the Ross River meant the bridge needed to be upgraded.
“We will have a nice flow of works, so we will do the road first, and that will flow on to the bridge work being done in 2024,” Mr Bailey said.
“We need the capacity here because as the population grows it’s obviously putting a lot of pressure on n the road network.” Work on n the project will begin later r this year.
Mr Walker, said this would uld be a “dream come true” for the community that use Bowen Rd and Stuart Drive.
He said the geotechnical report would come first, before the design phase was completed.
“As more people move to Queensland, and to our regional centres, it’s important that we are delivering upgrades now,” he said.
“About 24,000 people use this section of Stuart Drive each day, so I’m pleased to see this work pushing forward.” After the works on the bridge are complete, the state government will start on a new section.
“This will be followed by works to upgrade Stuart Drive to four lanes from University Rd, including signalising the Gartrell Drive intersection,” Mr Walker said.
“It’s anticipated that works on the Stuart Drive duplication project will be complete in late-2024, weather and construction t ti conditions onditio permitting.” The $46.4m election commitment includes:
Replacing the Mervyn Crossman Drive and Fairfield Waters Drive roundabout with a signalised intersection.
Signalising the Gartrell Drive and Kokoda St intersections.
Safety upgrades for pedestrians and bike riders, including wider paths, better connections, and safer crossings.