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Mackay Ring Road

Queensland
Mackay Ring Road; Queensland
	Map of Stage 1 of proposed ring road
General information
Type	Highway (Under construction)
Length	21 km (13 mi)
Ring road around	Mackay
Major junctions
South end	Bruce Highway (National Highway A1), Bakers Creek
	Peak Downs Highway (State Route 70); Bruce Highway, Glenella;
Northeast end	Harbour Road
Location(s)
Major settlements	Bakers Creek, Ooralea, Racecourse, Foulden, Glenella, Mount Pleasant, North Mackay, Mackay Harbour
Highway system
	Highways in Australia; National Highway • Freeways in Australia; Highways in Queensland; ; ;

The Mackay Ring Road is a bypass route near Mackay, Queensland, Australia The proposed full length of the road is 21 kilometres (13 mi) long and will be built in 3 stages.^[1] Stage 1 opened in September 2020.

Stage 1 is 11.34 kilometres (7.05 mi) in length and connects the Bruce Highway to the south of Mackay (at Stockroute Road) with the Bruce Highway to the north of Mackay (near Bald Hill Road). It includes a new bridge over the Pioneer River and an interchange with the Peak Downs Highway. It provides a bypass of Mackay for Bruce Highway traffic that is immune to flooding and free of signalised intersections.^[1] Stage 1 of the project was expected to cost $540 million, 80% of the funding was from the Commonwealth and the remaining 20% from Queensland.^[2]

Stage 2 is 8.2 kilometres (5.1 mi) in length. It will connect Stage 1 near the Bruce Highway at Glenella to Harbour Road at Mackay Harbour. The route will follow the Mackay Harbour Railway (Port Rail Line).

Stage 3 is 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) in length. An additional connection from Stage 2 to the Port and Slade Point Road.

It was expected that many vehicles would bypass the city once completed.

Construction

Milestones

October 2011 – Planning Study commences
February 2012 – Analysis and evaluation of alignment options
May 2012 – Business Case for preferred alignment commences, community consultations
13 November 2012 – Approval to proceed to design stage
January 2014 – Preliminary design phase begins, Initial ground survey and soil testing
2015 – Detailed design work commenced
Mid 2017 – Construction of stage 1 commenced
5 September 2020 – Completion of Stage 1 and opening.

Upgrades

Extend to Bald Hill Road

A project to extend the ring road to Bald Hill Road, at a cost of $497.3 million, was in detailed design in November 2021.^[3]

Mackay Port access

A project to provide access to Mackay Port, at a cost of $350 million, was in planning in July 2022,^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b Department of Transport and Main Roads (19 May 2014). "Mackay Ring Road concept plans". Projects. Queensland Government. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
^ Truss, Warren (10 June 2014). "Mackay Ring Road En Route". Media Release. Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
^ "Mackay Ring Road". Queensland Government. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
^ "Mackay Port Access, Bruce Highway to Mackay - Slade Point Road, construct new two-lane road". Queensland Government. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.