Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I take this opportunity to update the House on the most significant piece of infrastructure being upgraded in the western corridor and in my electorate of Oxley. The Ipswich Motorway will soon celebrate its first completed section, that of the Ipswich-Logan motorway interchange. This section of the upgrade was the most complex part of the overall project and it has been done under full traffic conditions. It involved a major upgrade of the interchange and a 2.2-kilometre stretch of the Ipswich Motorway between Gailes and Goodna.

The project is due to be completed by the end of the year. I put on record the great work that has been done by the project partners: Leightons as the contractors, Main Roads, the state government and Ipswich City Council. I make special mention of Leightons for their community engagement and the way in which they have worked very well with the local community during a very difficult period.

Recently I attended a Legacy event where some 200 trees were planted as part of a Woogaroo Creek restoration project. This project was a way of thanking the local community for their patience and understanding during construction of this integral capital work. The Ipswich Motorway upgrade is technically difficult, it is geographically complex and it comes at a high cost in testing the patience of local community. I congratulate all the residents, all the people in the community along the motorway upgrade, for their patience and cooperation in dealing with the project. The Ipswich Motorway upgrade has spanned some 10 years since I began to lobby for its full upgrade, and it is finally being fulfilled under this government. (Time expired)

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