The Infrastructure Group joint venture has won the design and construction contract for the $514.3 million Haughton River Floodplain Upgrade project south of Townsville.

The JV involves Bielby, BMD Constructions, JF Hull and Albem Pty Ltd with ARUP Group and HDR Inc.

Construction of the project is due to start in mid-2018 and be completed by around mid-2021, weather permitting.

The project will improve safety and flood resilience on the Bruce Highway by upgrading 13.5km of highway, including realigning the Reed Beds curve and building a new Haughton River Bridge and several other wider, higher bridges.

The project also includes upgrading nine rural intersections, building two cane-rail overpasses and installing wide centrelines on the highway north of Ayr.

Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the new Haughton River Bridge would be more than 10m wide and built to withstand a one-in-100-year flood, such as that caused in parts of far north Queensland by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Nora.

“That is a significant improvement on the current bridge which is about 7m wide and is regularly closed for extended periods due to flooding,” Mr Bailey said.

“An average of 544 direct jobs will be supported over the life of the project and contractors have been asked to demonstrate their commitment to engaging local employees and businesses.”

The Australian Government has committed up to $411.4 million to the project with the Queensland Government contributing $102.9 million.