JULY 21, 2015: AS 600 jobs wait in the wings, I'm calling on the State Main Roads Minister to pull out all stops to build the Mackay Ring Road.The Federal Government had supplied most of the money needed to execute Stage One of the $565 million Stage One project, but it is now up to Minister Mark Bailey to stump up with the resources to get it happening.Our city is in dire need of major projects like the Mackay Ring Road to deliver jobs and stimulate our economy.And while the Abbott Government has done its part to help with the process, I’m pushing for some serious action at the State level.Up until recently, I had been advised that on-ground works could not commence until 2017, but I have now been informed that it will be possible to get started in 2016, if the necessary resources are allocated to the project.I’ve already secured a personal assurance from the Prime Minister that Federal Government funding for Stage 1 of the ring road can be brought forward.We now need Mr Bailey to allocate the resources to the State Department of Transport and Main Roads so this can happen.Construction of the Mackay Ring Road will be the economic equivalent of creating an entire new industry.The sheer size and scale of the Mackay Ring Road Project is staggering.Stage 1 includes an 11.3km two-lane rural highway bypass that will avoid 10 sets of traffic lights from Stockroute Road to Bald Hill Road.Fourteen new bridges will be constructed, including local road overpasses and major waterway crossings of the Pioneer River and the Fursden Creek floodplain.