A safer Bruce Highway around Townsville

COMPLETION of the $137.5 million upgrade to Townsville's stretch of the Bruce Highway is one step closer, with an overpass of the North Coast Rail Line at Cluden officially opened today.I joined Federal Member for Herbert Ewen Jones and State Member for Thuringowa Aaron Harper at Cluden to celebrate this major infrastructure milestone, which was opened to traffic last week.Being four lanes, this will improve driver safety and traffic flow by eliminating the existing level crossing at Cluden.In another major milestone for the project, the new southbound Stuart Creek Bridge has also been opened to traffic and work is almost complete on the Hunter Street intersection upgrade.The project remains on track for completion by mid-2015.Crews are now focused on completing major works at the northern end of the project, including Stuart Drive, as well as the Abbott Street interchange.Motorists can expect to see continued changes along the highway over the coming months as we head towards the finish line for this project.Work has also started across town on the final section of the Townsville Ring Road. Around $200 million will be spent in completing the final 22 kilometres of the Townsville Ring Road to provide a high-speed freight bypass and improve travel times for our industries.Another bonus of the project is that it has been providing 518 direct jobs for workers at a time when jobs and job security are more important than ever.The Vantassel to Cluden upgrade of the Bruce Highway is jointly funded by $110 million from the Australian Government and $27.5 million from the Queensland Government.