MARCH 11, 2015: A RAFT of new jobs for the Mackay region edge closer today as the successful tenderer for detailed design of the $565 million Mackay Ring Road Stage 1 is announced.The preferred contractor, AECOM, will carry out detailed design for a ring road that will create hundreds of jobs for the region.We want to reach the construction phase as soon as possible because this project will generate 600 direct jobs and many more indirectly.The completed ring road will take heavy vehicles carrying hazardous loads off our local roads and improve the safety for travellers on the Bruce Highway and local commuters.The design for 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.Works on the ring road is part of the $8.5 billion investment in partnership with the Queensland Government to fix the Bruce Highway.Mackay is one of the fastest growing regions in the state and this project will improve the local road network, ease congestion and reduce the amount of heavy vehicles carrying hazardous loads through built-up areas and improve efficiency and safety on the highway.[box style="1 or 2"]The project will now move onto the detailed design phase, which is expected to take two years to finalise.Construction for Stage 1 is expected to begin in 2017 and take about two and a half years to complete, weather permitting.For more information on the project including the latest plans visit www.tmr.qld.gov.au[/box]