Construction is expected to be completed by September 2023, weather permitting.
Status
Construction
Piling works for the Gabay Gubudala pedestrian overpass south of Draper Road on the Edmonton to Gordonvale project
Realigned Queensland Rail North Coast line close to Stoney Creek bridge construction on the Edmonton to Gordonvale project
Stoney Creek bridge construction on the Edmonton to Gordonvale project, facing south.
Wright Creek bridge construction on the Edmonton to Gordonvale project, facing south east
Bridge construction at Wrights Creek on the Edmonton to Gordonvale project, facing south towards Walsh's Pyramid
Construction of the new intersection between Djarragun Way (old Bruce Highway) and the new Bruce Highway lanes south of Petersen Road
Piling works for the Gabay Gubudala pedestrian overpass south of Draper Road on the Edmonton to Gordonvale project, facing south towards Walsh's Pyramid
Bruce Highway, Cairns Southern Access Corridor (Stage 3), Edmonton to Gordonvale, construction
A total transport solution is being undertaken to provide long-term improvements to traffic flow and road safety through reducing congestion, highway travel time and improving road access.
A 10.5km upgrade and duplication of the Bruce Highway between Edmonton and Gordonvale is being delivered. The project is Stage 3 of the Cairns Bruce Highway Upgrade Master Plan released in 2010.
This project will deliver significant safety improvements along this section of the Bruce Highway, which is the busiest 2-lane section of the Bruce Highway between Brisbane and Cairns.
Under the 15-year, $13 billion Bruce Highway Upgrade Program, the department is continuing to invest in safety, flood resilience and capacity upgrades along the Bruce Highway between Brisbane and Cairns.
Benefits
Improves safety
Increases capacity
Improves network efficiency
Increases traffic flow
Reduces peak hour congestion
Better road access
Contributes to regional growth
Better active transport
Contributes to economy
Key features
Duplication of all existing 2 lane sections of the Bruce Highway between Edmonton and Gordonvale to 4 lanes.
A new alignment for the Bruce Highway to the eastern side of the existing highway between Petersen Road and Warner Road.
A new signalised intersection at Petersen Road and upgraded signalised intersections at Draper Road and Riverstone Road.
Over 10km of new service roads to remove local trips from the highway.
Realignment and upgrade of 4.5km of the Queensland Rail North Coast Line to accommodate the duplicated highway.
Removal of multiple at grade rail crossings and upgrade of boom gates at other crossings.
New road and rail bridges at Wrights Creek and Stoney Creek.
New Bruce Highway road overpass south of Maitland Road connecting Pine Creek-Yarrabah Road and Maitland Road.
Relocation of existing cane rail lines at locations to accommodate the duplicated highway.
Gabay Gubudala pedestrian overpass south of Draper Road, a new pedestrian underpass north of Draper Road and pedestrian path on the Menmuny Overpass south of Maitland Road.
Luke Azzopardi Cycleway, a dedicated off-road cycleway from Riverstone Road to tie into the existing pathway at Thompson Road.
Several intersections and direct accesses to the existing Bruce Highway will either be partially closed or removed to improve traffic flow and increase road safety on the highway.
Changes to the highway completed through this project will allow the posted speed to be 100km/hr from north of the Draper Road intersection to south of Petersen Road intersection.
Infrastructure naming
We are proud to announce 10 new pieces of infrastructure have been officially named on the project, following more than 50 public submissions.
The new names recognise the Edmonton and Gordonvale area's local identities and rich Indigenous culture.
Gabay Gubudala (ga-buy gooboo-daala) Overpass, for the pedestrian overpass at Gordonvale. Gabay means 'path' and Gubudala means 'to Gordonvale' in the local Yidinji dialect.
Menmuny (MEN-murn-ih) Overpass, for the Pine Creek – Yarrabah Road / Maitland Road overpass. Menmuny was an Indigenous leader for the area.
Bama (BUM-uh) Way Road, for the Jones Road / Pine Creek – Yarrabah Road connector. Bama is the Indigenous word for 'people', commonly used by the Yidinji-speaking Indigenous people of the Cairns area.
Djarragun (JARRUH-gurn) Way, for the Old Bruce Highway / New Maitland Road connector. The Yindinji name for Walsh's Pyramid is Djarragun.
John Davies Bridge, for the Wrights Creek bridge. Mr John and Mrs Eliza Davies are buried 200m upstream from Wrights Creek bridge. Mr Davies was an active and well-respected member of the Gordonvale community.
Kamma (KAMM-uh) Road, for the Warner Road to Harris Road connector. The word 'kamma' has been associated with the area for thousands of years by the Yidinji people, and also for generations of more recent settlers, who named a railway stop in that area Kamma after the Indigenous word.
Jashar Bridge, for the Stoney Creek bridge. The Jashar family were, and remain, respected and active members of the Gordonvale community.
Clyde Coleman Bridge, for the Collinson Creek cycleway bridge. Mr Coleman lived close to the bridge and was a prominent naturalist, with 6 spider species named after him.
Luke Azzopardi Cycleway, for the Gordonvale to Cairns cycleway. Mr Azzopardi was a Gordonvale resident who was well-respected and made significant contributions to sport and the community during his short life.
Warren and Linda Pitt Way, for the section of the Bruce Highway from Gordonvale to Edmonton. Mr Pitt is a former long-serving member of the Queensland Parliament for the seat of Mulgrave. Mr and Mrs Pitt remain active and respected members of the Gordonvale community.
Thank you to everyone who put forward a submission.
Gabay Gubudala Pedestrian Overpass concept
Note: Certain aspects of the scope included in this concept design may change as design progresses.
Funding
The project is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments on an 80:20 (federal:state) basis. Investment ID 383276
We are upgrading the Bruce Highway between Edmonton and Gordonvale.
This is one of the busiest two-lane sections of the Bruce Highway between Cairns and Brisbane.
This exciting $481 million project will deliver a total transport solution, long-term improvements to traffic flow and road safety for all motorists catering for the future population growth of the southern corridor to Cairns We are duplicating the Bruce Highway to have four-lanes between Edmonton and Gordonvale.
A new signalised intersection will be constructed at Petersen Road.
New road and rail bridges will be built at Stoney Creek and Wrights Creek We're also building a new Bruce Highway overpass connecting to both Pine-Creek Yarrabah Road and Maitland Road which will greatly improve highway access, safety and connectivity.
Upgrades to the signalised intersections at Draper Road and Riverstone Road will improve traffic flow for motorists Several intersections and highway accesses will be either partially closed or removed to improve road safety on the highway Works include the realignment and upgrade of sections of Queensland Rail’s North Coast Line to accommodate the duplicated highway.
Better, safer facilities will be provided for cyclists and the active transport community with a new full length, off-road cycleway.
Upgrades delivered through this project will increase the posted speed between Edmonton and Gordonvale to 100km/hr.
We're investing in the future of North Queensland by delivering projects which will support safety, and population growth We’re committed to bringing you a more efficient highway motoring experience, to get you where you need to be safely and on time.
Current status
Community consultation will run from Wednesday Monday 14 August to Friday 1 September 2023. This is an opportunity for you to provide feedback on the Edmonton to Gordonvale project and help shape community engagement for future projects.
Bridge deck unit installation on the Menmuny Overpass is complete.
Construction of the Gabay Gubudala pedestrian overpass is progressing.
A major traffic switch to open the newly realigned and duplicated Bruce Highway between Petersen Road, Edmonton and Maitland Road, Gordonvale occurred on 7 June 2023.
The staged opening of the upgraded Riverstone Road intersection commenced on Thursday, 30 March 2023.
Project map
Project map showing construction between Edmonton and Gordonvale south of Cairns. 10.5km of construction to upgrade and duplicate the Bruce Highway between Edmonton and Gordonvale. Construction of key infrastructure at Stoney Creek, Wrights Creek, Menmuny Overpass, Gabay Gubudala Pedestrian Overpass and the Luke Azzopardi Cycleway from Riverstone Road to Thompson Road.
[Steve] The Queensland component of the Edmonton project was the realignment of 4.5km of rail. The realignment was required due to the constraints within the existing TMR corridor width and in order to facilitate dual-laning from Edmonton to Gordonvale we've had to realign some of the Queensland Rail line.
[David] During this particular rail possession, the project was able to successfully slew the existing QR track on to its new alignment. So in terms of the overall project, this was a very significant milestone. The rail position refers to a period of time when the tracks are temporarily closed and trains are excluded from running on the network. We had a 70 hour position window to be able to complete our scope of works before handing the tracks back to QR.
[Steve] The crew here worked 24-7 in that 70 hours in order to accommodate the slew. The collaboration between Transport Main Roads, HSA (John Holland, Seymour White, AECOM) and Queensland Rail has been extremely important on this project. Transport and Main Roads doesn't realign rail infrastructure very often, so utilizing the expertise in order to accommodate this realignment has been extremely important.
[David] One of the key considerations for the rail possession was selecting the right team to do the works, especially under a rail environment where we've got extreme time pressures. During a possession environment, once the tracks are certified and handed back, it could be less than 2 hours before the first passenger train comes through our new track contract, so there is no margin for error.
[Barry] This project brought a lot out and I think it's going to pave a way in future. This project is the first I've been involved in as a third-party way. It's communicating what is actually required and our safety requirements. The North Coast line is a critical part of infrastructure for the state of Queensland.
Even though transport and road transport is also critical, rail, which I think anyone will know is of utmost importance because of the amount it can haul. At least probably 50 wagons, which takes a lot of vehicles off the road. We've had 455 passenger trains up over this section trucks. We had 1,549 trains over the 2020 period.
This project, I think, has set a fantastic foundation for the understanding. There's been a lot of complexities in this. You're all out there to do one job and I've been privileged to be on it.
Cane rail works complete on the Edmonton to Gordonvale project
The Department is reinvesting project savings to deliver a new off-road cycleway next to the Bruce Highway, consistent with the Cairns Bruce Highway Upgrade Masterplan. The project will deliver a safe off-road facility for bicycle riders of all abilities, including school children and the active transport community. The new cycleway also delivers a direct and continuous route with limited intersections to encourage bicycle riders to use the off-road facility.
