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

Planning is complete and the detailed design stage has commenced for a new four-lane section of the Bruce Highway to the east of Tiaro. The project will increase the flood immunity, safety and efficiency of the Bruce Highway and future-proof the road to cater for growing traffic volumes. It will also remove a significant number of heavy vehicles from the Tiaro township, improving safety and liveability for residents.

The Bruce Highway at Tiaro contains 3 flood zones, variable speed limits (including a 40km/h school zone), a signalised pedestrian crossing, over 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, with no diversion route. These closures have a significant impact on the national road transport network and result in the isolation of the Tiaro township during significant flood events.

Delays at Tiaro during peak travel times result in 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

  • 9km of a 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.  Investment ID 371601.

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

Consultation

The community will continue to be involved in the Tiaro Bypass project. The department will keep the community informed of the project’s progress and will provide opportunities for the Tiaro community and other stakeholders to provide input and feedback on the project.

Current status

The department has developed a draft concept design for the new Tiaro Bypass. The draft concept design includes:
  • 9km 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 Tiaro (one at Wilsons Road in the north and one at Tahiti Road in the south) to provide efficient access to the township and help encourage visitation
  • grade separated interchanges, with overpass bridges at each connection to Tiaro to separate local and through traffic and provide safe connectivity to and from the new bypass
  • a realignment of Bauple Drive to connect to the new Tahiti Road interchange via a service road to improve safety.

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

The project's planning phase is now complete. The detailed design stage has commenced and is expected to be completed in 2024.

Detailed design will include:

  • further detailed investigations including environmental, hydraulics, noise, geotechnical, pavement, traffic and safety assessments
  • development of detailed road and bridge design drawings including drainage, lighting, signage, property accesses and public utility relocations
  • preparation of detailed cost estimates, construction drawings and contract and procurement documents for the construction phase.
Four-lane Tiaro Bypass - draft concept design

Project map overview

Community feedback 

How has feedback been considered to date?

The department has carried out consultation with Tiaro and surrounding communities since 2019.

Feedback from initial consultation in early 2019 showed there was greater support for a bypass than an upgrade of the existing highway. This feedback also suggested there is concern about potential economic impacts of a bypass. This was a key consideration for the department in planning the next steps for the project.

The department worked with Fraser Coast Regional Council, the Tiaro community and businesses throughout the project to identify opportunities that can 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 concept design, together with the department's investigations, contributed to several key project features and commitments.

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

The department has Frequently Asked Questions covering some of the most common questions that arose from consultation on the design.

The department distributed a project update 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 of the project.

The project team will continue to consult the community during the development of the detailed design.