Bruce Highway Upgrade—Maroochydore Road and Mons Road Interchanges
The Maroochydore Road and Mons Road Interchanges project is being delivered as part of the Bruce Highway Upgrade Program to improve safety, ease congestion and cater for future traffic growth.
The project will upgrade both the Maroochydore Road and Mons Road interchanges on the Bruce Highway at Forest Glen. It will convert the existing Maroochydore Road and Nambour Connection Road roundabout to a fully controlled signalised interchange. The project will also include widening Mons Road under the Bruce Highway and moving on and off-ramp access points.
Two-way service roads will connect the Maroochydore Road and Mons Road interchanges on the eastern and western sides of the Bruce Highway to separate local traffic and improve access to the Forest Glen business precinct.
New active transport facilities will be 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 project does not include any changes to the current provision of 4 traffic lanes (2 each way) on the Bruce Highway at this location.
Benefits
- Improves safety
- Increases capacity
- Improves network efficiency
- Reduces interchange queuing
- Reduces travel time
- Improves flood immunity
Key features
- Building a new, 4-lane eastbound bridge over the Bruce Highway from Nambour Connection Road to Maroochydore Road.
- Converting the existing Maroochydore Road and Nambour Connection Road roundabout to a fully controlled, signalised interchange with greater capacity.
- Extending and widening all on and off-ramps at the Maroochydore Road interchange.
- Connecting the Maroochydore Road and Mons Road interchanges via 2 new service roads on the eastern and western sides of the Bruce Highway.
- Removing the north-facing ramps at the Mons Road interchange.
- Upgrading the Mons Road southbound on-ramp.
- Moving the Mons Road northbound off-ramp to a new roundabout at the intersection of Chevallum Road and Rainforest Road.
- Widening Mons Road under the Bruce Highway.
- Delivering new active transport facilities for bike riders and pedestrians through the Maroochydore Road interchange connecting to the eastern service road.
Funding
The project is 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
Current status
Construction is progressing well, with the following activities recently completed or underway:
- opening of the relocated Bruce Highway northbound Exit 200 to Chevallum Road
- progressive opening of both the eastern and western service roads adjacent to the Bruce Highway
- transferring traffic onto the final configuration at the Maroochydore Road interchange
- widening works at the Mons Road underpass
- intersection works at Mons and Chevallum roads
- demolition of the old Maroochydore Road interchange bridge.
Construction of the upgrade is being carefully programmed and staged to minimise impacts to the local community and road users.
Due to the nature of the works and the proximity to live traffic, some activities will need to be completed at night when traffic volumes are lower. This will ensure the safety of motorists and workers.
General construction working hours are:
Night works: Sunday to Thursday, 7pm to 5am
Day works: Monday to Saturday, 6am to 6pm.
Check QLDTraffic for up-to-date traffic information or call 13 19 40.
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 is improving connectivity between the Maroochydore Road and Mons Road interchanges, in particular for the businesses of Forest Glen. This will be achieved through construction of new service roads east and west of the Bruce Highway.
A second access to the Sunshine Coast Grammar School via Owen Creek Road roundabout opened to traffic in late January 2020. The additional access will aid in redistributing school-bound traffic on Mons Road during peak periods and improve safety for pedestrians crossing the road to access the shops. It will also provide 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 will deliver 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
- bike 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 Interchanges
