Australian Prime Minister Visits the Works of the Toowoomba Highway That Acciona is Constructing in Queensland

• The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of the project for the region and the economic and social benefits that it will bring to the area

The Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, has visited the works of the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing (TSRC) project, a bypass that the Nexus consortium, which includes ACCIONA, is constructing to the north of the city of Toowoomba, some 126 kilometres from Brisbane.

The head of the Australian government highlighted the benefits that the new infrastructure will bring to the region, creating new jobs and faster and safer communications.

“The Prime Minister was pleased to see infrastructure investment creating opportunities for regional Australia including employment, a safer and faster road transport network, and ongoing economic benefits which promote regional growth and development for the Darling Downs”, said John Hagan, CEO of the Nexus consortium.

“The Prime Minister was particularly interested in how the TSRC was helping to shape the careers of staff working on the project and developing strong skills for the lasting benefit of the region”, added José Antonio Sánchez, project manager.

The TSRC is one of the core elements of the economic development plan for southwest Queensland.It will improve traffic conditions in the region, reducing the flow of heavy vehicles and dangerous goods vehicles that currently pass through the city centre.

The 41 km route will connect the Warrego highway in the east with the Gore highway in the west, via Charlton.Its most notable features include an 800-metre viaduct over the railway line and a 30-metre cutting in the mountain to allow oversized vehicles or dangerous goods vehicles to use the highway, as an alternative to a tunnel.

ACCIONA Concessions is part of the Nexus consortium, which also includes Ferrovial, Plenary Group and Transfield Services. It was awarded the contract to design, construct, operate and maintain the TSRC in August 2015,under a public-private partnership agreement worth AU$ 1.6 billion.

The works, which will be partly carried out by ACCIONA Construction, are due to be completed in 2018 and will generate around 1,800 jobs.Once the TSRC comes into operation, the operations and maintenance work on the highway will be carried out for a 25 year period.

ACCIONA has received numerous awards for the Toowoomba project,including the IJGlobal “Asia-Pacific Road Deal of the Year 2015”award, presented to the most outstanding infrastructure financing initiatives globally, and the“Gold Award 2016- Best Road Project” in the Partnerships Awards, one of the most important international accolades presented to public-private partnerships.