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A notorious section of the Bruce Highway has been bypassed overnight with the long-awaited opening on a $1.2-billion project north of Brisbane.
The Gympie Bypass, a new 26-kilometre, four-lane section of highway opened without fanfare on Tuesday night, providing a seamless path from Woondum to Curra and bypassing the city of Gympie, 175 kilometres north of Brisbane.
It means motorists can now avoid 53 intersections, including nine sets of traffic lights.
It is also expected to halve the number of semi-trailers and other heavy vehicles clogging the city of 56,000 people.
Motorists say it is saving about 20 minutes of travel time.
One motorist described his trip on the bypass as a "magic run". (Supplied: John Clough, Infinity Flights Photography)
'One of the best things'
Mayor of the Gympie Regional Council Glen Hartwig said it was a special and historic day.
"This is one of the best things the town has ever seen," he said.
"It has been a long time coming."
Glen Hartwig says the opening of the bypass is monumental for the town. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
Gympie Chamber of Commerce president Martin Muller said while there was some concern about diminished trade, the feedback from businesses was mostly positive.
"The people coming to see Gympie and spend time in the town itself will still be there," he said.
"The people travelling around [Gympie] will be far safer."
'Magic run'
Motorist Trevor Pike has already tested the bypass and described it as "unbelievable".
"It's brilliant bypassing all those traffic lights," he told the ABC.
"All that traffic, all those trucks not going through town — it's great."
Construction on the four-stage plan to upgrade the Bruce Highway started in 2009. (Supplied: Transport and Main Roads)
Crystal Harris's son travelled on the bypass in the early hours of the morning and took 30 minutes off his travel time.
"He said it was a magic run," Ms Harris said.
Ben Quin lives south of Gympie and noticed less traffic on the Old Bruce Highway this morning.
"It's going to take a lot of traffic congestion out of Gympie itself, mostly heavy haulage," he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was a vital infrastructure project.
"It is wonderful to see motorists will now be able to reap benefits of a completed Gympie Bypass," he said.
Llew O'Brien says the greatest benefit of the bypass is the improvement to road safety. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
LNP Federal Member for Wide Bay Llew O'Brien said it was a major boon for travellers.
"There are economic benefits, there are social benefits, but the biggest one is road safety," he said.
But he said the next challenge was advocating for more safety upgrades north along the Bruce Highway.
The $1.2 billion project, jointly funded by the Queensland and federal governments, is the fourth and final section of the 62-kilometre upgrade from Cooroy, on the Sunshine Coast, to Curra, north of Gympie.
Construction began in September 2009.
The bypass was funded through almost $930 million from the federal government and more than $232 million from the Queensland government.