Donna Jones
The Gympie Bypass work continues apace, with Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King saying the new section will enable the Bruce Highway to remain open during the flood times, when it would ordinarily be cut by flood water in several places.
“The construction of these bridges is crucial to the flood immunity of the project,” Ms King said.
“When completed, this new section of the National Highway will stand 27 metres above the regular Mary River water height in Gympie, at its lowest point.
“The new bypass is being built to a height that would have remained operational during events like the devastating floods of early 2022,” she said.
Section D of the Cooroy to Curra section of the Bruce Highway recently had the final concrete pile poured for the project’s 42 bridge structures.
The last of the 575 piles have now been installed, marking another key milestone for this critical infrastructure project.
A bridge pile forms the foundation for columns that hold up a bridge.
With the piles now in place, works on all bridges on the Gympie bypass are underway or complete.
The Keefton Road underpass, Bolcaro Road overpass, Noosa Road overpass and the recently opened Flood Road interchange bridge are now all open.
The $1 billion project is due for completion late 2024, weather permitting.
Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said there are 42 bridges at 23 locations throughout the 26km Gympie bypass project.
“If each of the 575 piles were placed end to end, it would span over five kilometres. This is over 15 times taller than Q1 in Surfers Paradise (Australia’s tallest building at 322.5 metres),” he said.
Federal Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Senator for Queensland Anthony Chisholm said the project’s importance for locals as well as travellers is undeniable.
“Infrastructure projects like this will assist in providing continual access to crucial services for the Gympie region.”