Transurban has announced that the Governement of Queensland (Australia) has decided to progress its proposal to deliver vital upgrades on the Logan Motorway and Gateway Extension Motorway.

The decision does not commit the parties to a project, the State will partner with Transurban to facilitate the development of a final business case and Binding Upgrade Proposal (BUP) for the project as well as undertake community and stakeholder engagement.

The A$450 million (US$321.4 million) project includes interchange upgrades at key congestion hot spots, widening parts of the Gateway Extension Motorway and constructing new south-facing ramps at Compton Road.

Transurban's proposed funding sources would include increases to truck tolls to align with national benchmarks, and tolls on the proposed Compton Road south-facing ramps which align with the existing north-facing ramps.

The project is expected to be delivered with no private land acquisition, no new land disturbance and with the potential to rehabilitate and give back elements of the existing corridor for community use.

The final business case and BUP is expected in mid-2016 for consideration by government. If approved, construction is expected to commence in late-2016 and be completed by early-2019.

Transurban Chief Executive Officer Scott Charlton said the project would deliver a safer, more efficient motorway and drive jobs and economic growth for Queensland. Mr Charlton stated:

"Under our proposal this project will generate more than $1.2 billion in economic benefits for Queenslanders and support more than 1,300 jobs during construction. This project will improve travel time reliability and safety for motorists and commercial/freight vehicles, which will have a flow-on effect to the wider road network."