Bruce Highway, Cairns Southern Access Corridor (Stage 4), Kate Street to Aumuller Street, widen to six lanes

Construction of the new inbound bridge over Chinaman Creek on the Bruce Highway and widening of the existing outbound bridge to 3 lanes.

Construction shown as a time-lapse video clip beginning in 2018 and ending in 2021.

Upgrade of the Kenny Street and Draper Street roundabout into a 4 legged signalised intersection with dual outbound slip lanes.

Construction shown as a time-lapse video beginning in 2019 and ending in 2021.

We are upgrading the Bruce Highway – Cairns Southern Access Corridor – from Kate Street (renamed Links Drive) to Aumuller Street.

This is one of the busiest sections of the Bruce Highway in the Cairns region accommodating 35,000 vehicles per day.

Improvements along this corridor will enhance travel and improve efficiency, providing better connections which means more reliable travel times for Cairns motorists.

At Chinaman Creek the current inbound bridge will be replaced with a new 3 lane bridge and the existing outbound bridge widened to 3 lanes.

We’re widening this section of the highway from 4 to 6 lanes which will provide motorists with quicker, safer and less congestion, into and out of Cairns CBD along this route.

Better, safer facilities will be provided for cyclists and pedestrians with a new off-road shared pathway.

Upgrades to the Lyons Street and Aumuller Street intersections will include additional turning lanes to improve traffic flow for motorists.

Works from Comport Street to Kenny Street include an upgrade of the existing roundabout at Draper Street and Kenny Street to a signalised intersection, with a new double left turn for outbound traffic.

This $104.1 million-dollar upgrade is currently under construction and will be completed by mid-2021.

We’re committed to bringing you a more efficient highway motoring experience, to get you where you need to be safely and on time.

Cairns Southern Access Corridor

Kate Street to Aumuller Street Project

Outbound bridge deck installation, Chinaman Creek

28 deck units were installed to add a third lane

Bruce Highway – Cairns Southern Access Corridor – Stage 4: Kate Street to Aumuller Street Project

Engineers Australia site visit

Members visited for an information sharing and networking opportunity

They discussed Rapid Impact Compaction and wick drains, ground surface treatments

Wick drains are installed to speed up ground settlement

Wick drains allow water to rise under the weight of surcharge material

Visitors were provided with up close explanations

Rapid Impact Compaction (RIC) method

Compressing an old landfill site

Cairns Southern Access Corridor
Kate Street to Aumuller Street Project
Chinaman Creek bridge – bridge decking installation

Building a bridge.

Bruce Highway – Cairns Southern Access Corridor – Stage 4: Kate Street to Aumuller Street Project.

This is a 30-tonne excavator.

With a vibrating head attachment.

The steel pipes are driven down 4 metres.

They reserve space for bridge supports.

Contract Administrator, Andrew McIlveen.

RIC is an acronym that stands for Rapid Impact Compaction.

It involves a machine, an excavator, a 50 tonne excavator, that has a purpose-built attachment that undertakes what is called Rapid Impact Compaction.

Its purpose is to, basically compact loose materials in the ground underneath where we are trying to build the road.

The design for the site and, based on the fact that we are building on an old landfill site, requires that we undertake RIC at about two-meter centres.

It's not a common construction technique and in fact this is a first for Cairns. This type of equipment and machinery has not been in this region before.