ROADS Minister Duncan Gay has announced the first stretch of the Pacific Hwy upgrade from Woolgoolga to Ballina will be under construction within weeks.

Mr Gay said the construction would be "turbocharged" thanks to the multi-tender process reaching completion by the end of next month.

The Ballina to Woolgoolga upgrade is the last section of the highway duplication, with the entire stretch from Hexham to the Queensland border expected to be complete by 2020.

"In the last two decades, the number of lives lost on the highway has halved and by fast-tracking upgrade works we can help lower this statistic even further," Mr Gay said.

Lismore MP Thomas George said in partnership with TAFE, the government would offer programs to "up-skill" locals and businesses - so when work comes, they are ready.

"When the Woolgoolga to Ballina upgrade is full steam ahead in 2017, 4000 workers will be employed," he said.