The Townsville Ring Road Stage five project has reached another milestone with the opening of a new exit ramp.
From tomorrow (September 9), the first of four ramps at the interchange connecting Beck Drive to the Ring Road will open to cars, allowing travel to Hervey Range Road and Gouldian Avenue.
The change is a massive boost for motorists in Townsville's northern suburbs who will be able to travel to Kirwan or Upper Ross communities via Beck Drive, rather than Riverway Drive.
Motorists can expect further changes from Friday 16 September, with traffic to be switched onto the new Ring Road alignment, including onto the new overpass of Beck Drive.
Once this occurs the eastbound exit ramp from the Ring Road to Riverway Drive will be permanently closed.
At the same time, a Ring Road entry ramp at Riverway Drive eastbound will be temporarily closed so it can be reconfigured to connect to the upgraded motorway.
A new Ring Road entry ramp at Beck Drive will instead provide eastbound travel access from the area, toward the Townsville University Hospital and beyond.
Work is continuing on the remainder of the project.
This includes the construction of remaining entry and exit ramps at Beck Drive, which will provide all direction access on and off the Ring Road.
These important traffic switches mark major milestones in the progress of the project, which is expected to be completed in mid to late 2023.
This $230 million investment is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments on an 80:20 basis.
It's estimated to support an average of 398 jobs over the life of the project.
