SAFETY improvements to the Mount Lindesay Highway in North Maclean are being planned with the section labelled as “highest priority” by the Department of Transport and Main Roads.
Community consultation for the project will begin later this year after a business case for the upgrades is completed next month.
Timeline details for the North Maclean Safety Improvement project were released on Saturday, March 25, by the department after $20 million was pledged on Friday evening for highway widening between Beaudesert and Browns Plains.
It is not yet understood how much the North Maclean upgrades will cost.
Mount Lindesay Highway upgrades were one of five road projects to receive funding from the state and federal government’s half-a-billion dollar roads package for Queensland, with upgrades to the M1 and Pacific Motorway also announced.
SEE RELATED: Mount Lindesay Highway gets $20 million boost
Logan MP Linus Power said project details would be finalised in the coming months by the state and federal governments.
“It is exciting to have secured the funding and I will continue to fight for greater improvements for the Mount Lindesay Highway,” he said.
The 3.2km strip in North Maclean runs from the Logan River crossing through to Chambers Flat Road and includes the intersections at Greenbank and St Aldwyn roads.
Three crashes have occurred at the Greenbank Road intersection since January, with right turns from St Aldwyn Road avoided by motorists who get onto the highway via a partly unsealed service road.
Construction for the Mount Lindesay Highway upgrades in North Maclean are expected to begin in October next year.
City of Logan Mayor Luke Smith said celebrations would be saved for when the work is done.
“The reality is our community have to live with these roads for awhile longer yet and people will be keen to know what these upgrades will look like and how they will connect with our existing road network,” he said.
“Our community and our council have spent years fighting for this decision, waiting for the day when higher tiers of government came to their senses and made these projects a priority.”
Beaudesert MP Jon Krause said more details about the upgrades were needed, with lane duplication and service road improvements possible considerations.
He said urgent attention was needed to improve the highway from Jimboomba north to Stoney Camp Road.
