Townsville Ring Road (Stage 5)
The Townsville Ring Road Stage 5 project, a landmark initiative that has brought about substantial improvements in road safety, traffic flow and travel time predictability for both freight and passenger vehicles along the Bruce Highway in Townsville, has been completed.
This vital project involved duplicating the last remaining 2-lane section of the Townsville Ring Road, spanning from Vickers Bridge to Shaw Road, covering a distance of 6 km.
A noteworthy addition to this endeavour is the introduction of a 4-lane ramp intersection at Beck Drive, establishing a crucial secondary connection to the Townsville Ring Road from the Upper Ross area. This development not only facilitates smoother traffic flow but also significantly contributes to improving local connectivity and road safety, benefitting many daily commuters, including 12% dedicated to freight transport.
Townsville Ring Road (Stage 5) construction
Benefits
- Improves safety
- Increases capacity
- Improves network efficiency
- Increases traffic flow
- Reduces peak hour congestion
- Reduces interchange queuing
- Contributes to economy
- Contributes to regional growth
- Better active transport
Key features
- Duplication of a 6km, 2-lane section of the Townsville Ring Road between Vickers Bridge and Shaw Road to 4 lanes.
- Duplication of bridges over Bohle and Little Bohle rivers.
- Duplication of overpass bridges at Beck Drive and Hervey Range Developmental Road.
- A new 4-lane ramp interchange at Beck Drive, catering for all directions of travel and providing better connection between the Townsville Ring Road and the Upper Ross area.
- Changes to the existing Riverway Drive interchange to ensure its safe operation with the new Beck Drive interchange, including removal of the southbound off-ramp and northbound on-ramp.
- Installation of drainage for flood mitigation.
- Installation of Intelligent Transport Systems.
- Noise mitigation measures.
- Environmental considerations.
- Upgrades to 4.5km of active transport infrastructure, which includes the construction of 3.5km of brand-new shared pathways designed to accommodate pedestrians and bike riders.
Construction of the duplicated William Condon Bridge
Funding
This project was jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments on an 80:20 (federal:state) basis. Investment ID 1059916
- Total investment
- $280 million
- Australian Government
- $224 million
- Queensland Government
- $56 million
Current status
Major construction on the Ring Road alignment has been completed, and all 4 highway lanes are now operational between Vickers Bridge and Shaw Road. The Beck Drive interchange is open to traffic in all directions, and 2-way traffic has been restored on Beck Drive. With the project now completed, approximately 17,000 vehicles per day will experience reduced travel times and improved safety.
Minor ancillary works, including landscaping, electrical installations, and footpath enhancements, will continue throughout the project area until late 2023.
Project timeline
- Business case approved – October 2019
- Design and construct contract awarded to Georgiou AECOM consortium – August 2020
- Early works commenced – June 2021
- Construction commenced – July 2021
- First ramp at Beck Drive interchange opened – September 2022
- Reconfiguration of the southbound entry ramp at the Riverway Drive interchange completed– December 2022
- Bohle River Bridge opened, and construction of all major structures completed – December 2022
- Construction at Beck Drive and Gouldian Avenue intersection commenced – March 2023
- Last remaining single carriageway separated – June 2023
- Completion of major works and opening of all 4 motorway lanes – October 2023
- Project completed – October 2023
Beck Drive interchange
Project animation
Project layout plans
Overview
![Overall project layout plan](/_/media/projects/t/townsville-ring-road-stage-5/overall-project-layout-plan.png?h=auto&w=100%25&hash=E0BB22D94D9C63ED991FF65DAAE403CF)
Section 1 Riverway Drive to Little Bohle River Bridge
Section 2 Little Bohle River Bridge to Shaw Road
Note: Not for construction. Plans are for consultation purposes only and are subject to change.
Cultural Heritage
The Townsville Ring Road (Stage 5) project team has continuously engaged with the traditional custodians of the project site, the Gurambilbarra Wulgurukaba peoples, throughout the design and construction phases to identify opportunities for design participation and celebration of cultural heritage knowledge.
The Gurambilbarra Wulgurukaba traditional owner group has contributed to the project through:
- providing the design for the official project artwork as displayed on the Townsville Ring Road (Stage 5) Project Charter and on personal protective equipment workwear proudly worn by staff on site
- participating in mosaic burning on the project site for environment health and prior to the planting of native grasses
- monitoring of clearing activities for sites and artefacts of cultural significance
- assisting in the delivery of cultural awareness training to project staff
- contributing cultural heritage material for site inductions.
![Smoking ceremony, photo shows smoke emerging from traditional grasses and fodder in the foreground and an Aboriginal man with didgeridoo in the background](/_/media/projects/t/townsville-ring-road-stage-5/smoking-ceremony-ttlgs0002976-0014.png?h=auto&w=100%25&sc_lang=en&hash=A13C01C1724D360E8073714C845A4F48)
Image: A smoking ceremony with the Gurambilbarra Wulgurukaba traditional owner group officially opened the Townsville Ring Road (Stage 5) project in 2021.
The Townsville Ring Road (Stage 5) project area overlaps or adjoins previous Townsville Ring Road upgrades, including sections 2 & 3 (completed 2009) and Section 4 (completed 2016). Archaeological and cultural heritage studies along with stakeholder engagement from these previous projects were used to inform the Townsville Ring Road (Stage 5) Cultural Heritage Risk Assessment process.
No statutory Historical Heritage Listings are known in the vicinity of the project site. Assessment of the federal, state and local heritage registers was undertaken. There were three Indigenous Cultural Heritage sites recorded within the project area and its immediate surrounds, all of which were significantly old mature Eucalypts with no physical heritage features, but which held intangible value to the traditional owner group due to both the trees' ages and links to Country pre-European impacts on the area. One of the trees was in an impact area within the project boundary and was removed with monitors from the Gurambilbarra Wulgurukaba People present to ensure appropriate care and controls were upheld and that no additional cultural materials were exposed or harmed. The remaining 2 trees were identified and marked for preservation by the project.
The presence of 2 larger watercourses through the project area suggested the potential for sites to be discovered during the works. To mitigate any potential issues, Cultural Heritage monitors were engaged on the project through the initial ground disturbance and clearing stages of the project. These stages included removal of vegetation and the early excavation process as requested in the Cultural Heritage Management Agreement negotiated between the department and the Gurambilbarra Wulgurukaba People. Additional involvement by cultural heritage monitors was provided through the latter stages of the project as required.
The presence of a World War II airfield and remains of several historically recorded structures were also identified in the area surrounding the Townsville Ring Road (Stage 5) project. The heritage values of these sites and artefacts were not impacted by the project works.
If you would like to provide feedback about the Cultural and Heritage assessment, you can do this through the online feedback form.
Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia rating
The Townsville Ring Road (Stage 5) project design phase underwent a thorough evaluation, aligning with the rigorous criteria set forth by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia. Remarkably, it attained the highest rating of ‘Leading’, surpassing the project's initial objective of achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating.
An assessment for the project’s construction phase (commonly referred to as the ‘As Built’ phase) is in progress and scheduled for a final rating in March 2024. This evaluation will provide a comprehensive insight of the project’s sustainability and excellence.
Townsville Ring Road (Stage 4) project
As part of the Townsville Ring Road (Stage 4) project completed in late 2016, the department engaged James Cook University to undertake a PhD research thesis on the conservation of the endangered Black-throated Finch under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
View the ’Understanding uncertainty to inform conservation: Tools to protect the endangered black-throated finch southern subspecies’ thesis.