Work is progressing on the 42 bridge structures that are being built along the $1 billion, 26km Gympie bypass project.
These bridges are being built in 23 locations over waterways, local roads, the North Coast Rail Line and the new Bruce Highway. Two of the bridges are over 250 metres long.
A whopping 730 bridge girders and deck units are part of the project, with the final 21 of these delivered in the last week of September.
The first girders were installed on the project in October 2021 over Tin Can Bay Road, with the final girders in place on the 250 metre long Six Mile Creek Bridge on September 26, 2023.
The largest girder on the project was over 38 metres long and weighed 102.5 tonnes.
“The completion of these girders is a major milestone for this critical road infrastructure project, and I thank the workers on this project for their efforts,”said Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey.
“If each of the bridges were placed end-to-end, they would span almost four kilometres, which is longer than Queensland’s longest bridge, the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge which crosses Hays inlet and links Brisbane to Redcliffe.
“I would like to thank the community and the travelling public while we delivered these vital pieces of pre-cast concrete bridge elements to site from Brisbane, one truck (or jinker as they are also called) per girder.”
The Gympie bypass is jointly funded on an 80:20 basis, with the Australian Government contributing $800 million and the Queensland Government $200 million. It is due for completion by late 2024, weather permitting.