A major influx of new jobs is in the cards for Queensland as the state government rolls out its roads and transport projects and announces over $400 million in new, accelerated funding for state roads, to supercharge the economy through the coronavirus recovery period.
Queensland Jobs and Projects
While on a visit to the $812-million Bruce Highway upgrade on the Sunshine Coast, Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said that major projects along the length of the Bruce Highway, along with billions of dollars’ worth of upgrades for the M1, Capricorn Highway, Ipswich Motorway and Smithfield Bypass are on the rollout schedule for 2020.
“Queenslanders are already seeing major road projects nearing completion in places like Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Central Queensland, Wide Bay, the south east and across regional Queensland, but that’s just the tip of iceberg,” Mr Bailey said.
He also stressed that over 21,500 jobs will be supported by the $23-billion investment in roads and transport investment, including 13,500 jobs for regional Queensland.
The program is part of The Queensland Economic Recovery Strategy: Unite and Recover for Queensland Jobs, which aims to help the state focus on backing QLD jobs to aid in COVID-19 recovery.
Springfield Central Park ‘n Ride
In Springfield, the new Springfield Central Park ‘n’ Ride will add 44 construction jobs and will also increase the Springfield Central station parking precinct’s total capacity to approximately 1,100 commuter carpark slots.
It will also improve safety and connectivity for customers who are using the slots in their daily commute.
The detailed design for the carpark have taken into consideration pedestrian movements and access arrangements. Care has also been taken to ensure that the overall design complements the surrounding area.
Other Projects
The list of major projects getting underway in 2020 include:
- $1 billion Bruce Highway upgrade Cooroy to Curra Section D– 576 jobs
- $1 billion M1 upgrade from Varsity Lakes to Tugun near the NSW border – 837 jobs
- $662 million Bruce Highway upgrade from Caboolture to Steve Irwin Way – 664 jobs
- $481 million Bruce Highway upgrade from Edmonton to Gordonvale in Cairns – 466 jobs
- $749 million M1 and busway upgrade at Logan – 721 jobs
- $712 million Gold Coast Light Rail Stage 3A – 760 jobs
- $550 million Sunshine Coast rail upgrade – 333 jobs
- $301 million Bruce Highway upgrade at Maroochydore Road and Mons Road interchanges – 382 jobs
- $110 million Mackay Northern Access upgrade – 154 jobs
- $150 million Bruce Highway interchange upgrade at Deception Bay – 270 jobs
Meanwhile, other major projects already underway include:
- $104 million Cairns Southern Access upgrade from Kate Street to Aumuller Street – 113 jobs
- $514 million Haughton River Floodplain project at Giru, 40km south of Townsville – 544 jobs
- $497 million Mackay Ring Road – 534 jobs
- $121 million Rockhampton Northern Access Upgrade – 260 jobs
- $75 million Capricorn Highway duplication, Gracemere – 187 jobs
- $812 million Bruce Highway upgrade from Caloundra Road to the Sunshine Motorway – 680 jobs
- $400 million Ipswich Motorway upgrade from Rocklea to Darra – 471 jobs
- $195 million M1/M3 merge upgrade – 257 jobs
- $152 million Smithfield Bypass in Cairns – 115 jobs
- $197.5 million M1 upgrade from Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes – 257 jobs
- $80 million Sumners Road interchange – 105 jobs
- Warrego Highway upgrade at the Chinchilla open level crossing