ROADWORKS have been accelerated on the Flinders Highway between Townsville and Charters Towers in a move that is touted to help support the development of a new motorsport precinct.
Work to upgrade the Flinders Highway and Woodstock-Giru Road intersection are under way, with a new acceleration lane building built north of the intersection to allow turning vehicles to safely merge with highway traffic.
The $5 million package was necessary to support the development of the Lansdown Industrial Precinct, which includes the approved DriveIT NQ driver education and motorsport facility.
Thuringowa MP Aaron Harper said the intersection upgrade would support the development of future projects in the area.
"These are the works required to support access for current approved projects within the precinct, including Drive It NQ, and will deliver the required safety improvements," Mr Harper said.
"This will help unlock the area not only for DriveIT but potentially for other projects in the future."
Mr Harper said he has advocated for DriveIT in the past and will continue to do so.
"This project remains firmly in my mind and is an important one for driver education and for motorsport enthusiasts," he said.
Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said the intersection upgrade was another milestone in the development of the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct.
"Council has committed to Lansdown being established as an environmentally sustainable, advanced manufacturing, processing and technology estate," Cr Hill said.
"This estate is really significant to the city and North Queensland with the potential for thousands of jobs to be created, which would be a huge boost to our economy and bring new skills to the community, particularly when the local economy is suffering because of the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic."
Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said roadworks across the state would help to support jobs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
"The global economy has been hit hard by COVID-19, but Queensland's strong health response to-date means our state can kick-start the economy quickly and get on with the job of rolling out a $23 billion pipeline of road and transport upgrades," Mr Bailey said.