The upgrade of the Ipswich Motorway between Wacol and Darra will be completed six months early, with motorists set to be driving on this new section of road by the middle of next year.

Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said excellent progress is being made towards fixing this vital piece of road infrastructure, with three quarters of the Wacol to Darra section now done.

“All up, the Rudd Labor Government is investing over $2.5 billion to widen the motorway between Dinmore and Darra to six lanes and upgrade its major interchanges, improving safety and travel times for the more than 80,000 cars and trucks that use it daily,” said Mr Albanese.

“This is one of the biggest road projects currently underway anywhere in the country.

“Already more than 10,000 Queenslanders have worked on-site building the infrastructure vital to our nation’s long term economic prosperity.”

The key milestones already achieved on the Wacol to Darra section are:

• 17 of the 26 bridges are built;


• The first section of the rail embankment is finished;


• 30 of 40 major traffic changes have been completed;


• 284,000 out of 420,000 tonnes of asphalt have been laid and 1.4 million cubic metres of bulk earthworks removed; and


• More than 213,000 plants have been planted as part of the revegetation process.

Queensland Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said completion of the Wacol to Darra upgrade will complement the recently opened Ipswich-Logan Motorway Interchange.

“We are extremely pleased the benefits of this massive upgrade will be enjoyed by motorists six months earlier than originally planned with project teams working flat out to get the job done,” said Ms Nolan.

“The focus is now on completing the widening of the road between the Logan Motorway at Gailes and Jervis Street at Darra and the major upgrade of the Centenary Highway Interchange as well as construction of new bridges over Bullockhead, Sandy Creek and the Ipswich rail line.

“I would like to thank local communities and motorists for their continuing understanding and patience as this important project progresses.”