Bruce Highway Upgrade—Maroochydore Road and Mons Road Interchanges

Major construction was completed for the Bruce Highway – Maroochydore Road and Mons Road Interchanges project in June 2023. 

The Maroochydore Road and Nambour Connection Road roundabout was converted to a fully controlled signalised interchange. Mons Road under the Bruce Highway was widened and service roads now connect the Maroochydore Road and Mons Road interchanges on the eastern and western sides of the Bruce Highway.

In addition, new active transport facilities were constructed for pedestrians and bike riders through the Maroochydore Road interchange connecting to Sandalwood Lane and Mons Road.

The project also contributed to the extension of Owen Creek Road to access the Sunshine Coast Grammar School. This new access road opened to traffic in January 2020. 

The upgrade was delivered as part of the Bruce Highway Upgrade Program to improve safety, ease congestion and cater for future traffic growth.

Benefits

  • Improves safety
  • Increases capacity
  • Improves network efficiency
  • Reduces interchange queuing
  • Reduces travel time
  • Improves flood immunity

Key features

  • Built a new, 4-lane eastbound bridge over the Bruce Highway from Nambour Connection Road to Maroochydore Road.
  • Converted the existing Maroochydore Road and Nambour Connection Road roundabout to a fully controlled, signalised interchange with greater capacity.
  • Extended and widened all on and off-ramps at the Maroochydore Road interchange
  • Connected the Maroochydore Road and Mons Road interchanges via 2 new service roads on the eastern and western sides of the Bruce Highway.
  • Removed the north-facing ramps at the Mons Road interchange.
  • Upgraded the Mons Road southbound on-ramp.
  • Moved the Mons Road northbound off-ramp to a new roundabout at the intersection of Chevallum Road and Rainforest Road.
  • Widened Mons Road under the Bruce Highway.
  • Delivered new active transport facilities for bike riders and pedestrians through the Maroochydore Road interchange connecting to the eastern service road.

Funding

The project was jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments on an 80:20 (federal:state) basis. Investment ID 234413

Total investment
$301.25 million
Australian Government
$241 million
Queensland Government
$60.25 million

Bridge demolition at Maroochydore Road interchange

Demolition of the old Maroochydore Road interchange bridge was successfully undertaken in January 2023. 

This complex operation was completed in one weekend on the original eastbound bridge linking Nambour Connection Road and Maroochydore Road over the Bruce Highway.

The 2-lane concrete bridge was built in 1990 as part of the Nambour Bypass and has now been replaced by a new, 2-span that will carry 4 lanes of traffic. This includes active transport facilities for bike riders and pedestrians. 

More than 80% of the leftover material from the demolition will be repurposed for future road projects.

Sustainable and active transport infrastructure

A key consideration of the project was improving connectivity between the Maroochydore Road and Mons Road interchanges, in particular for the businesses of Forest Glen.

A second access to the Sunshine Coast Grammar School via Owen Creek Road roundabout opened to traffic in late January 2020. The additional access aids in redistributing school-bound traffic on Mons Road during peak periods and improve safety for pedestrians crossing the road to access the shops. It also provides a corridor for pedestrian connectivity between the Mons Road retail precinct, Sunshine Coast Grammar School and the residential areas on Owen Creek Road.

Bike riding and pedestrian facilities

The project delivered several missing active transport links to the community, including:

  • a new shared user path to the northern side of Maroochydore Road providing a link from the Big Pineapple, Stark Lane, Sandalwood Lane and Old Maroochydore Road
  • an eastbound cycle lane incorporated in the upgraded section of Nambour Connection Road and Maroochydore Road
  • the extension of Owen Creek Road including shared user path facilities that provide enhanced active transport access and safety improvements to the Sunshine Coast Grammar School access
  • bicycle lanes along Sandalwood Lane and Mons Road to create a bike route, linking from Old Maroochydore Road to Mons Road in Forest Glen
  • widening of Chevallum Road formation to extend the bike route south on Chevallum Road to the intersection with Rainforest Road. 

Bruce Highway Upgrade – Maroochydore Road and Mons Road interchange bridge girder installation time lapse video

Video Transcript
Time lapse video showing 3 bridge girders being installed at Bruce Highway Upgrade - Maroochydore Road and Mons Road interchange project. 

Bruce Highway Upgrade—Maroochydore Road and Mons Road Interchanges visualisation

Video Transcript

Bruce Highway travelling north from the new Chevallum and Forest Glen Exit 200 towards the upgraded Mons Road interchange. Continuing north along the Bruce Highway from Mons Road interchange. The new eastern and western service roads (Mons Road and Chevallum Road) run parallel to the highway. Travelling further north over the upgraded Eudlo Creek crossing and finishing north of the new Maroochydore Road interchange.

Bruce Highway Upgrade—Maroochydore Road and Mons Road Interchanges visualisation visualisation—camera 2

Video Transcript

Nambour Connection Road travelling eastbound to the new Maroochydore Road interchange and continuing east towards Maroochydore.