Ipswich Motorway upgrade – Dinmore to Goodna

Ipswich Motorway Upgrade – Dinmore to Goodna

Delivering

safe,

connected

communities

Ipswich Motorway Upgrade project improved safety and quality of life for surrounding communities through enabling more transport options for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, reducing congestion, providing safer motorways crossings, and increasing capacity for anticipated growth.

SMEC’s award-winning work over two years on the large-scale upgrade of the Ipswich Motorway, one of the busiest motorways in Queensland, improved connectivity for multiple thriving South East Queensland communities.

The highway is a major freight transport link supplying goods to the city of Brisbane and access to the Port of Brisbane.

Planning for the upgrade of the more than 150-year-old motorway began in the early 2000’s when it became clear that it was not keeping pace with increasing commuter and freight demands. A major upgrade was required to reduce congestion, increase capacity, improve the motorway’s poor safety record and provide more travel options for residents. In 2008, the Origin Alliance was established to manage the myriad of asset and development stages. SMEC and its partners provided full design services, from preliminary concept through to final design and through the construction phase of the project.

The upgrade required widening the motorway to three lanes each way, with capacity to increase these to four in the future. Three new service roads, seven pedestrian and cycling bridges, and 25km of bicycle and pedestrian paths were built to take local traffic off the motorway, improve connectivity and provide more transport options.

Year

2008 – 2010

Location

Queensland, Australia

Client

Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland

Expertise

Roads & Highways Bridges Transport Planning & Advisory Intelligent Transport Systems

of bridge piles

shared pedestrian and cycleways

4250

jobs created during construction

Providing full design services

SMEC provided full design services, from preliminary concept through to final design and through the construction phase of the project. Design delivery was ahead of program and under budget, and included the award of significant variations to the original project scope.

Managed by the Origin Alliance, SMEC was one of the two engineering firms engaged to deliver the detailed design of this complex road infrastructure project.

Project works included:

Widening of 8 km of existing motorway corridor from two to three lanes in both directions, with room for four lanes in the future
Motorway to motorway grade separated interchanges to provide safer, more effective vehicle access to the Warrego and Cunningham Highways
Grade separated interchange at Redbank, with connection to Smiths Road extension to the South and Monash Road extension to the North
Grade separated interchange at Goodna
24 bridges including 6 pedestrian bridges
New service roads and upgrading of local roads totalling 13 km in length
Drainage including transverse, longitudinal and water quality infrastructure
Provision for pedestrian and cyclists along the Ipswich Motorway corridor and local road network
Rehabilitation of underground coal mines through grouting to prevent future subsidence
Intelligent Transport System to provide increased driver safety and ensure more effective future motorway management
Temporary Traffic Management to allow construction of the motorway under traffic, involving over 35 major traffic switches.

Improved community safety and quality of life

This project improved safety and quality of life for the surrounding communities by enabling more transport options for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, reducing congestion, providing safer motorways crossings, and increasing capacity for anticipated growth.

Since the project’s completion South East Queensland has experienced over a decade of rapid population growth. The legacy this project has left for the community is outstanding — enabling safe and efficient commuter access to the growing satellite city of Ipswich as well as supporting economic expansion as a key transport route.