Truckies are taking a wait-and-see approach to the difference the Gympie Bypass will make when it opens this month – possibly as early as this Friday – but everyone we spoke to is looking forward to driving it.
The $1.162 billion project has involved constructing a new 26-kilometre, four-lane divided highway between the existing Bruce Highway interchange at Woondum, just south of Gympie, and Curra.
It is the final section of a 62-kilometre, $2.549 billion program of works to upgrade the Bruce Highway between Cooroy and Curra that began in 2009.
Trent Dale, who is based in Rockhampton, drives for a Brisbane-based company and hauls general freight up and down the coast through Gympie.
Dale predicts it could save as much as 20 minutes, given the Bypass avoids 53 intersections (including nine signalised) and 106 property accesses which contribute to safety and congestion issues on the existing Bruce Highway.
“It’s long overdue,” added Dale who has been driving for eight years.
Bakhish agrees and is looking forward to bypassing the Gympie traffic lights and local traffic.
He tips as much as a 15-minute saving, up to 20 minutes in thick, slow traffic that “stops and goes”.
Truckies are looking forward to an end to merging lanes and negotiating local traffic in Gympie. Image: Kent MurrayChris Stanley from Brisbane reckons it’ll be a lot safer and is looking forward to no long having to negotiate all the cars pulling out in front of him through town.
“I’ve been going through there for 10 years and nearly every trip someone pulls out in front of you or cuts you off, or won’t let you back in when you have the merging lanes coming down to a single lane again,” Stanley said.
“It could save at least a half an hour
“That means you can get down and find somewhere decent to pull up for the night.”
Brisbane-based Georgina, who has been driving for seven or eight years, is looking forward to driving on a “better stretch of highway”.
She says the Bypass will mean less near misses and less chance of “running fatigue”.
Brisbane truckie Shannon agrees: “It’ll save a lot of trouble, stopping and starting and avoiding a lot of traffic.”
The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) told Big Rigs that the Bypass is on track to be opened this month.
“An exact date for the opening is dependent on weather and construction conditions over the coming weeks,” the spokesperson said.
“We will keep the community informed of the project’s progress and advise when the project has been opened to traffic.”
Queensland Trucking Association CEO Gary Mahon told Big Rigs he wouldn’t be surprised to see the barrier frames slide across as early as this Friday, October 18. Queensland goes to the polls for its state election on October 26.
Mahon said he has no complaints about having his members running on it day and night, but wonders why the entire 62km section of the Bruce has taken 15 years to finish.
“We’re delighted to see it open, but if we keep on investing at that rate, it’ll be more than 300 years before we reach Cairns with that standard of road,” Mahon said.
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