Fulton Hogan Seymour Whyte joint venture (JV) has secured a AUD$929.3m ($701.4m) contract for the upgrade works of Bruce Highway between Caloundra Road and the Sunshine Motorway in Queensland, Australia.

The Australian government is providing $743.4m for the project, and the Queensland government committed to provide $185.9m.

This project is expected to reduce congestion and travel time for motorists.

"This intersection zone sees the most crashes on the Bruce Highway and it urgently needs a new approach to traffic management for the roughly 60,000 vehicles that use it every day."

Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester said: “This project involves widening the highway to six lanes, as well as a major upgrade to the Sunshine Motorway interchange and reconfiguring the Caloundra Road Interchange to a Diverging Diamond Interchange.

“This intersection zone sees the most crashes on the Bruce Highway and it urgently needs a new approach to traffic management for the roughly 60,000 vehicles that use it every day.

“The Diverging Diamond Interchange design is a first for Australia, and could be used in future projects across the country.

"It has been used with great success in the US since 2009 and will improve safety for traffic moving between the Bruce Highway and Caloundra Road.”

A new interchange design will be implemented by the authorities to improve traffic management, and will be a key part of a major Queensland road project. The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia.

Queensland Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said: “An average of 694 direct jobs will be supported over the life of the project, which is fantastic news for the Sunshine Coast community.

“After personally meeting with community members last year, we have also included a southbound exit from the highway to Pignata Road.

“This is a big win for the community as it will create safe and direct access to local businesses and homes, as well as a future connection to development in Palmview.

“A new service road will also be built on the western side of the Bruce Highway between Steve Irwin Way and Tanawha Tourist Drive.

“The design will also significantly reduce the impact to the Beerwah State Forest.

"This means the Caloundra Road interchange will be contained to the east of the Mooloolah cemetery and will no longer impact environmentally sensitive areas to the west.”

Preliminary construction is expected to start by the end of 2016, and the major construction works are expected to start in mid-2017 and will be completed in 2020.