The project

The development cycle of a large project can take more than seven years. During this period the RTA has to:

• Set strategic project limits (where it is, how long, etc).
• Identify all of the options and all of the constraints.
• Choose a preferred option.
• Carry out a detailed study and environmental assessment of the preferred option.
• Recommend a preferred solution, with supporting detail.
• Carry out community consultation throughout the process.
• Revise the proposal in light of community comment.
• Take the proposal to appropriate agencies for concurrence.
• Seek project approval.

The planning process is designed to ensure that all viewpoints are heard and considered, that all findings are documented and those important findings acted upon.

In the case of the Bonville upgrade, planning approval was granted for the original design in March 2000. Following community consultation, the design of the project was modified.

Planning approval on the modified project was granted in December 2004.

In May 2006 the RTA awarded the contract to Abigroup Contractors Pty Ltd for the detailed design, construction and ten-year maintenance of the project.

Most of the existing highway will be retained to provide off-highway access between local communities. Please refer to the project locality map above for further details (or select the Locality Map page for a larger view of this map).

Here detailed maps are available on the Information documents section (under the heading information centre displays) of this website.

The Bonville upgrade will consist of the following:

• 9.6 km of separated dual carriageway.
• Approximately 8.6 km of new service roads and upgrades to local roads.
• One heavy vehicle inspection bay northbound.
• Two new grade separated interchanges at Mailmans Track and Archville Station Road, providing traffic movements in all directions.
• Total of 19 new bridges.
• New twin bridges will be constructed over Pine, Reedys and Bonville creeks.
• The c ombined length of all bridge decks is 1212m (total length of all bridges end to end would exceed 1.2km).
• The longest bridges for the upgrade will be the twin bridges over Bonville Creek at 164m each in length.

The existing Pacific Highway road alignment will be utilized as a service road between Hunters Forest Road and Lyons Road, as well as for the heavy vehicle inspection bay to minimise the need for land clearing.

• Upgrade of local roads, with overpasses for East Bonville Road, Bonville Station Road, Williams Road and a service road underpass near Hunters Forest Road.
• Total of five overbridges for local roads (including local roads at the two grade separated interchanges).
• The Old Pacific Highway/Perry Road intersection will be re-aligned to join with the grade separated interchange at Mailmans Track.
• The existing Pacific Highway south of Lyons Road will be re-aligned to join the Lyons Road interchange at the roundabout on the western side of the interchange.
• Cycle access for the full length of the upgrade.
• One 60metre wide fauna overpass over both through carriageways within the Bongil Bongil National Park.
• Three designated fauna crossing underpasses, as well as bridge abutments over the creeks wide enough to accommodate fauna corridor access requirements and fauna underpass structures at culvert locations.
• 27 on-site drainage basins, many of which will subsequently be converted into constructed wetlands.