Queensland
The road interchange features two new bridges and six lanes. Credit: Grace Dadson / Unsplash.

Australia’s Queensland Government has completed the A$80m ($61m) upgrade of the Sumners Road Interchange six months ahead of schedule.

The road interchange on the Centenary Motorway, considered one of the busiest interchanges in Brisbane, now has two new bridges and six lanes.

To improve movement for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, residents and businesses, two roundabouts have been removed.

A grade-separated bike track has also been added to provide a missing link to the existing Centenary Bikeway and remove the 500m dog-leg detour.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: “More than 35,000 people use this stretch of road every day, and more capacity on the interchange will make a world of difference for families in Jamboree Heights, Sumner, Sinnamon Park and Darra.

“Projects like Sumners Road, the $400m Ipswich Road Rocklea-to-Darra upgrade and the $244m Centenary Bridge duplication, as well as $17.8bn for regional roads and transport, are providing the infrastructure needed for our growing state and creating thousands of jobs.

“We’re investing a record $26.9bn over four years for better roads and transport as part of our economic plan and ongoing response to Covid, at a time when Queensland is expected to lead the nation in population growth.”

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said: “We’ve replaced the two roundabouts with signalised junctions, demolished the old two-lane bridge and built two bridges, providing six traffic lanes in total to accommodate the high volume of traffic.

“It’s a great example of how major road projects are benefitting not just drivers, but also bike riders and pedestrians.”

During the construction phase, the project created 105 jobs. Several local businesses were contracted to provide 17,000t of asphalt, 6000t of concrete and 36 girders.