The Queensland Government has had to reassess a billion-dollar upgrade after discovering its planned Gateway Motorway project would fail to
The Queensland Government has had to reassess a billion-dollar upgrade after discovering its planned Gateway Motorway project would fail to meet traffic demand.
An extra two lanes will now be built between OId Cleveland Road and Wynnum Road instead of the planned six.
The $1.88 billion dollar Gateway Upgrade Project will have four lanes each way, which the Government now says is necessary to slash traffic congestion and travel times.
“Traffic forecasting indicates that due to the rapid growth of the Australia TradeCoast economic region, this section of the motorway would need to be upgraded from six to eight lanes within the next five to 10 years,” Treasurer and Acting Main Roads Minister Andrew Fraser says.
Fraser says the extra lanes will extend almost 1.5 kilometres, and claims peak-hour traffic will flow up to 15 kilometres faster.
“The project will also include adding extra lanes to the northbound off-ramps at Wynnum Road and the Port of Brisbane Motorway,” he says.
The additional lanes will cost $30 million, but Fraser says they will be funded within the project’s budget.
Fraser says it is more cost-effective to build the extra lanes now rather than later when overhead costs rise.
He says expanding the project now will also avoid future disruptions to traffic, with the eight-lane upgrade due to be finished early next year.
The Port of Brisbane Motorway will be upgraded as part of the project, with Fraser saying the northbound exit ramp will be expanded to two lanes.
The Gateway Upgrade Project will duplicate the Gateway Bridge, 12 kilometres of motorway upgrades south of the river and seven kilometres of new motorway on the northside.