Glass House Mountains Road (Steve Irwin Way) safety improvements, between Glass House Mountains and Beerwah
This project will improve safety at various locations along Glass House Mountains Road (locally known as Steve Irwin Way) between Glass House Mountains and Beerwah.
This stretch of road has a significant crash history and the project will improve safety for all road users by reducing the potential for crashes.
This project builds upon works completed in late 2022 to improve safety along a stretch of Steve Irwin Way between Beerwah and Landsborough, extending the footprint of safety treatments delivered along this key arterial road.
Construction is expected to commence in mid-2024, weather and construction conditions permitting. Works will commence on the section of road from north of Reed Street to just south of Amy Drive at Glass House Mountains.
Safety treatments will include road widening to accommodate wide centre line treatment and shoulder widening, new dedicated right and left turn lanes at Kings Road, and streamlining of access points to certain businesses and private residences to reduce the number of driveways opening directly onto Steve Irwin Way.
The project will provide dedicated entry and exit points, formalise parking and install turning lanes at the roadside shops near Glass House Mountains, where vehicles have been pulling in and out of the road verge in an unpredictable manner at varied locations, creating significant safety risk for other road users on this 80km/h section of road.
Works will also extend and replace culverts, remove vegetation where required, undertake pavement rehabilitation, improve street lighting, improve bike rider safety, and install safety barriers at identified locations.
Benefits
- Improves safety
- Improves network efficiency
- Increases traffic flow
- Better road access
- Contributes to economy
- Contributes to regional growth
- Better active transport
- Reduces maintenance
- Improves ride quality
Key features
Safety treatments include:
- road widening
- wide centre line treatment to separate opposing traffic
- shoulder widening to provide additional space for road users to pull over, assist emergency vehicles to pass, accommodate wide vehicles and provide greater separation between vehicles and bike riders
- dedicated right and left turn lanes at Kings Road
- consolidation of access to some businesses and private properties
- dedicated entry and exit points, turning lanes and formalised parking at the roadside shops near Glass House Mountains
- extending and replacing culverts
- vegetation removal where required for road widening, to improve visibility and to ensure a safe roadside environment
- pavement rehabilitation to improve the road surface and underlying pavement
- improved street lighting
- on-road bike lanes, intersections marked with bike symbols and green paint at conflict points, to further improve bike rider safety
- safety barrier installation at targeted areas.
Funding
This $43 million project is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments on a 50:50 basis with the Australian Government committing $21.5 million and the Queensland Government committing $21.5 million as part of the Road Safety Program.
- Total investment
- $43 million
- Australian Government
- $21.5 million
- Queensland Government
- $21.5 million
Current status
Design is complete, with construction expected to commence in mid-2024, weather and construction conditions permitting.
The department will continue to keep the community informed as the project progresses.