Mains and Kessels Roads Intersection Upgrade Project, Ascension Island

The Mains and Kessels Roads intersection is part of the 11.5km Brisbane Urban Corridor located in Macgregor in Brisbane, Australia.

The intersection is being upgraded to provide a short underpass beneath Mains Road for traffic from Kessels Road. The upgrade also involves improving the turn and intersection lanes, as well as provision of new lanes for buses, pedestrians and cyclists.

It is funded by the Australian Government and operated by the Department of Transport and Main Roads of Queensland Government.
The main construction on the intersection upgrade is expected to begin in early 2012 and will be completed by 2014.

The purpose of the intersection upgrade is to separate Kessels Road traffic from Mains Road and improve travel times as well as traffic flow on both the roads. The intersection is expected to be used by more than 90,000 vehicles a day.

Brisbane road improvement project

The intersection upgrade includes construction of an underpass below Mains Road with two lanes in each way, along with construction of two at-grade turn lanes from Kessels Road onto Mains Road.

Two access lanes will be constructed each way on Kessels Road near the underpass, as well as two through lanes each way on Mains Road.

Construction also includes providing 2.5m wide paths for pedestrians and cyclists and new provisions for buses. A bridge on Kessels Road across Mimosa Creek forms part of the project.

Background to the intersection upgrade

The upgrade project was first identified by the BUC Planning Study in 2003. In 2006, the Intersection Upgrade Planning Study addressed the traffic, access, safety and other issues, as well as issues relating to noise, air and visual quality around the intersection.

Various options for the intersection upgrade were presented for community feedback in late 2006. The preferred option was communicated to the public through public displays in early 2008.

The funding for the upgrade was declared in early 2010. The geotechnical investigations and service location works on the ground commenced in mid-2010. The contractor for the project was selected in 2011.

The estimated investment for the upgrade project is A$300m ($314.61) which is being funded by the Australian Government under the Nation Building Program.

The benefits of the project include reduction in traffic delays and congestion, reduction in vehicle operating costs, improving amenities for cyclists, plus amenities for the local community through reductions in fuel consumption and local exhaust emissions.

Construction of the Mains Road and Kessels Road intersection and contractors

The early construction works were initiated in November 2011.

Geotechnical and public utility investigations, signalisation and safety improvements at the intersection of Mains Road and Omeo Street, clearing the former service station site on the southwest corner of the Mains Road and Kessels Road intersection, were all completed as part of the project's early works.

As of early 2012, retaining walls of some underground services and residential and commercial buildings are being relocated at the intersection of Mains and Kessels and near the streets of Grout and Benaud.

A visitor ventre (VC) at the site office near Mains Road and Kessels Road will be opened in 2012.

The main construction on the upgrade is expected to begin in early 2012. In October 2011, Parsons Brinckerhoff was appointed as the design consultant for the project. Baulderstone, a subsidiary of Lend Lease, won the A$115m ($122m) design-build contract in September 2011.

In the same month, KBR (Kellogg Brown and Root) was appointed contract administrator for providing construction verification services for the intersection upgrade.

KBR monitors the effectiveness of traffic management systems during the construction and also will ensure that project risks are appropriately identified and managed.