A drive over the Overpass and left turn at the Somerset Connection Road will reveal there is a plenty on the go along Somerset Road and a good deal of the excitement in the GIA is because development of the  latest Gibbs Group Industrial Park is well underway as the photo below shows.

The roads and  infrastructure work in the Gracemere Industry Park is being carried out by the JM Kelly Group with local contractors Noel & Jeffrey Schwarz on site with their machinery. For the daily observer the work is proceeding well and while rain would be appreciated to settle the dust, water trucks work at keeping the dust down. Progress is happening at an accelerated pace.

Ahrens, successfully tendered for the new Toll Depot in the GIA at 245 Somerset Road and have men and site offices on the ground and construction will start any day and the first freight should roll in by May of next year. This is sure to be the first of many freight companies who will take advantage of road train access from the west and southwest. With the opening of the Yeppen Bridge duplication project on Tuesday 29th October, time travelling in and out of Rockhampton will be reduced.

Adjacent to the new industrial park, Council are well underway with the new pumping station for the sewerage scheme. Water and Sewerage stretch along Somerset Road from Capricorn Street in the east to the Overpass

Just to the west of the Overpass, Aurizon is working on track laying for the Wiggins Island Rail Project which will see rail lines duplicated from Wiggins Island to Blackwater. Concrete sleepers lie in position ready to be lifted in place from west of the overpass along to the old Somerset Road Crossing.

As one heads east towards the long established eastern end of the GIA, the next stage of upgrading of the road network in the GIA is evident with Council arriving on site this week along with culverts and machinery to widen and improve the section of Somerset Road from Stewart Street to the old Somerset Road Crossing. This area has some of the narrowest stretches of bitumen and has the highest volume of road trains and b-doubles accessing their depots at the eastern end of the GIA.

On Somerset Road along in the Gateway Estate, Hassalls are preparing  for their next big On Site Auction to be held on Wednesday the  20th of November  – this brings in people from all over Queensland and Australia and is a big day for traffic in and out of the industrial area.   The opening of the Overpass five months ago allowed Hassalls to bring the biggest of mining machinery into their depot with ease.  The flow on from Hassalls’ auctions are felt throughout the city with accommodation, meals, taxis and hire cars and the airport and many other businesses all  benefitting from Hassalls locating in Gracemere.