Infrastructure Australia has released its evaluation of the Townsville Ring Road Stage 5 project, with findings stating that completing the Ring Road should be retained as part of a Program Initiative on the Priority List.
The Townsville Ring Road is situated on the Bruce Highway, Queensland’s primary north–south corridor, which includes a thirty-six kilometre section of highway passing through Townsville. Road capacity and safety on the Bruce Highway is part of the advisory body’s nationally significant program initiative, but an updated business case ought to be completed before the combined proposal could be added to the list of projects.
The current business case states that the traffic network currently performs at a satisfactory level, and the need for a new interchange may not be required for another sixteen years in terms of traffic capacity.
Infrastructure Australia’s Chief Executive, Romilly Madew, states, ‘Our evaluation of the business case found that completing the Townsville Ring Road to a consistent four-lane standard would improve transport efficiency, travel-time reliability and safety on this section of the road. However, the evidence in the business case showed that the major intersection upgrades at Beck Drive and Riverway Drive significantly add to the costs of the project, while delivering only marginal benefits to the community1.’
What are your thoughts on the upgrade of the Bruce Highway? Do you support the need for the Beck Drive interchange? If you work in the transport in asset management sector, then we’d particularly love to hear from you.