Back to Projects
  • Home
  • Projects
  • Bruce Highway (Gympie – Maryborough), Tiaro Bypass, construct bypass
  • Southern Queensland Region
  • Bruce Highway Upgrade Program
Location
Bruce Highway, Tiaro Queensland
Timing
Design has been complete
Status
Detailed design
A long queue of cars on a two lane road surrounded by trees and green spaces, approaching Tiaro, looking north toward the Tiaro Street intersection and town centre

Bruce Highway (Gympie – Maryborough), Tiaro Bypass, construct bypass

The Queensland Government is improving flood immunity, safety, and efficiency of the Bruce Highway and future-proofing the road to cater for growing traffic volumes. The Tiaro Bypass will also remove a significant number of heavy vehicles from Tiaro township, improving safety and liveability for residents.

The Bruce Highway through Tiaro contains 3 flood zones, varying speed limits (including a 40km/h school zone), a signalised pedestrian crossing, more than 50 direct property accesses and intersections, and a mix of local and through highway traffic.

Flood-related highway closures at Tiaro lead to disruption of freight and passenger traffic. There is no suitable detour when the highway is closed due to flooding and closures have a significant impact on the national road transport network and result in the isolation of Tiaro township during significant flood events.

The signalised pedestrian crossing and high traffic volumes through Tiaro during peak travel periods also create substantial queues on the highway in both directions.

 

Benefits

  • Improves flood immunity
  • Improves safety
  • Increases capacity
  • Improves network efficiency
  • Contributes to regional growth

Key features

  • 8.5km of new 4-lane highway east of Tiaro with a concrete centre median separating opposing traffic lanes.
  • 2 grade separated interchanges (one north and one south) providing easy connectivity to Tiaro for residents and visitors.
  • Realignment of local roads to the closest new interchange.
  • Improved highway flood immunity (designed for a 1-in-100-year flood event).

Funding

The project is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments. This funding allocation reflects the Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program 2024-25 to 2027-28 and is subject to further negotiation with the Australian Government. Investment ID 371601

 

Total investment
$336 million
Australian Government
$268.8 million
Queensland Government
$67.2 million

Consultation

We consulted with the local community and other key stakeholders that, together with technical investigations, informed the Tiaro Bypass design. We will continue to provide updates to the community on the project’s progress as it develops. 

Current status

Detailed design is complete. Funding for the project is subject to further negotiation with the Australian Government. Timeframes for procurement and construction will be confirmed once funding arrangements are finalised.

The project scope includes:

  • 8.5km of 4-lane highway with a concrete centre median barrier to separate northbound and southbound traffic and reduce the risk of head-on collisions
  • 2 connection points to the Tiaro township, one near Wilsons Road to the north and one south of Tahiti Road to the south which will provide efficient access to the township and help encourage visitation
  • grade separated interchanges, with overpass bridges to separate local and through traffic, and provide safe connectivity to and from the new bypass
  • a realignment of Bauple Drive and Tahiti Road to connect to the new southern interchange, to provide northbound and southbound highway access.

The new highway will be built on an alignment selected to minimise property impacts, sensitive environmental areas, waterways and heritage artefacts.

4-lane Tiaro Bypass Design Map

This map shows how the new four-lane Bruce Highway will bypass Tiaro. It highlights where the road changes, entry and exit ramps, and two interchanges near Tahiti Lane and Tahiti Road. It also shows road realignment, new highway bridges, and the closure of the Bauple Drive intersection
This map shows the design of the 4-lane Tiaro Bypass on the Bruce Highway. It highlights the new northern and southern interchanges with bridges, entry and exit ramps, realigned roads, and the planned closure of the existing Bauple Drive and Bruce Highway intersection.

Southern interchange

Artist’s impression of the southern interchange, looking north-west.
Artist’s impression of the southern interchange, looking north-west.

The new southern interchange, located around 2.5km south of Tiaro town centre, will feature a 60m bridge over the bypass as well as northbound and southbound ramps. These ramps will provide improved access to the new highway for local communities and additional options for highway access during flood events in Tiaro.

Northern interchange

Artist’s impression of the Tiaro Bypass northern interchange, looking north-west.
Artist’s impression of the northern interchange, looking north-west.

The northern interchange, planned to be located 3km north of Tiaro town centre, will include a highway bridge over Wilsons Road, enabling local and southbound Bruce Highway traffic to enter Tiaro township. 

The interchange will also provide safe, convenient northbound access to the highway from Tiaro and Wilsons Road.

Community feedback 

We have carried out consultation ( //projects/bruce-highway-gympie-maryborough-tiaro-bypass-construct-four-lane-bypass/consultation-summary ) ( //projects/bruce-highway-gympie-maryborough-tiaro-bypass-construct-four-lane-bypass/consultation-summary ) with Tiaro and surrounding communities since 2019.

Feedback from initial consultation in early 2019 ( //_/media/projects/b/bruce-highway-tiaro-flood-immunity-upgrade/tiaro_have-your-say.pdf )  ( //_/media/projects/b/bruce-highway-tiaro-flood-immunity-upgrade/tiaro_have-your-say.pdf )showed there was greater support for a bypass than an upgrade of the existing highway. This feedback also suggested there was concern about potential economic impacts of a bypass. This was a key consideration in planning the next steps for the project.

We worked with Fraser Coast Regional Council, the Tiaro community and businesses throughout the project to identify opportunities that could be harnessed from the bypass.

A working group was established to represent the community (including business operators) and to prioritise and act on identified opportunities.

Feedback from the working group and relevant stakeholders during development of the draft concept design, together with our investigations, contributed to several key project features and commitments.

Feedback from the community on the draft concept design informed us about community concerns and provided avenues for investigation during the detailed design phase.

We distributed a project update ( //_/media/projects/b/bruce-highway-tiaro-flood-immunity-upgrade/community-update---march-2023.pdf ) ( //_/media/projects/b/bruce-highway-tiaro-flood-immunity-upgrade/community-update---march-2023.pdf ) to the broader community in April 2023 with advice about the next steps for the project, including investigations to be undertaken during the detailed design stage.

The design has now been published incorporating feedback received during previous engagements. We will keep the local community and other key stakeholders informed as the project progress.

Last updated: 13 May 2026