Ring Road action

I have just announced the call for tenders for the detailed design of Stage 1 of the $540 million Mackay Ring Road.Consultants are invited to submit their best bids by December 19 to carry out a key phase of the project.

"The first jobs will be created in getting the detailed design complete..."

“After three years of feasibility study, extensive community consultations and the completion of initial ground investigations, the project can now commence and the first jobs will be created in getting the detailed design complete,” Mr Christensen said.“For affected land holders the detailed design process will determine exactly which parcels of land will be acquired and from that compensation will be offered.“If any affected landholders are not satisfied with the compensation offered, he would personally meet with them and seek to intervene on their behalf.”The design for Stage 1 will cover an 11.3km, two-lane rural highway bypass, with a posted speed limit of 80 to 100km per hour.Mr Christensen said the bypass would mean motorists could avoid 10 signalised intersections from Stockroute Road to Bald Hill Road, and would involve 14 new bridges, including local road overpasses and major waterway crossings of the Pioneer River and the Fursden Creek floodplain.“This is an example of the rigorous work that goes into building the infrastructure that Queensland urgently needs to make it safer and more capable of handling high traffic volumes,” he said.State Member for Mirani Ted Malone said Mackay was one of Queensland’s fastest growing regions, with rapid population and economic development contributing to significant congestion and safety issues.“Mackay’s strong growth is expected to continue over the next two decades and a robust, long term design is needed to improve the operation of the local road network,” Mr Malone said.“This project is a great example of the State and Federal Governments working together to give the people of Mackay the infrastructure they have been asking for —infrastructure that reduces the amount of heavy vehicles carrying hazardous loads through built up areas.“Once the successful design consultant is appointed, detailed design is scheduled to start in early 2015 and is expected to take at least two years to complete.”Full offer information and documentation is available via the QTenders website.