Flood-related closures of the Bruce Hwy cost over $300m since start of 2025

The Bruce Hwy has already been closed more than 30 days this year at an astronomical cost to the state. SEE THE LIST

Arnot Creek on the Bruce Highway north of Ingham has been flooded on multiple occasions in 2025. Picture: QPS

The Bruce Highway has already been closed this year due to flooding for the equivalent of a full month, with the road cut at 25 locations – at an estimated cost to the economy of $300m.

The new data from the Department of Transport and Main Roads underlines the importance of work to begin on the $9bn of upgrades the federal and state governments have committed to following the Help Our Highway campaign last year led by The Courier-Mail, in conjunction with its sister regional publications.

Those upgrades promise to bring the highway’s entire 1673km length to at least a three-star safety rating.

The economic modelling of the closures suggests that without better floodproofing, cuts to the Bruce Highway could cost the national economy more than $2.6bn by 2032.

James Cook University economist Adjunct Professor Colin Dwyer said Queenslanders were “driving and dying” on a two-star road.

“It has quite a substantial impact on a very productive zone of Queensland,” he said.

“Agricultural products won’t be sent to market, banana growers won’t get their product down to Brisbane.

“Everyone is actually impacted by these closures.”

Prof Dwyer warned that not pushing ahead in earnest with the now-funded highway upgrades could prove costly.

The Bruce Hwy flooded at Plantation Creek at Ayr. Photo: Supplied

“There is a significant cost when the Bruce closes,” he said.

“Federal and state governments need a plan to improve reliability on the Bruce in addition to improving safety.”

RACQ traffic and safety engineering manager Greg Miszkowycz said the impacts were felt across Queensland when flooding cut the highway.

“The Bruce is Queensland’s economic spine, moving huge amounts of resources, goods, produce and tourists every day,” Mr Miszkowycz said.

“We will continue to engage with all levels of government to ensure that funding not only makes the Bruce safer, but also more resilient to weather.”

This year, floodwaters have cut off the highway in six spots between Townsville and the Whitsundays.

That included the Burdekin River bridge between Ayr and Home Hill, where the road was cut for six full days in February.

A spokesman for Transport and Main Roads Minister Brent Mickelberg said the widespread damage across state-controlled roads in North Queensland this year was due to what he said was unprecedented flooding.

But the spokesman conceded: “The Bruce Highway is the backbone of our state, and for it to be cut that many times is not good enough.”

Economist Adjunct Professor Colin Dwyer from James Cook University.

Mackay-based Federal Member for Dawson Andrew Willcox said any closure to the Bruce Highway brought everything to a grinding halt.

“(It) affects everyone, from people trying to get to work to freight with fresh local produce and even worse, ambulances unable to make it to a patient or a hospital,” Mr Willcox said.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads said this year’s figures compared with the highway being closed at 81 locations for a total of 31 days in the entire calendar year of 2024.

Hinchinbrook Shire Mayor Ramon Jayo said a flooded Bruce Hwy creates major problems for Ingham.

“Every time we go into major flooding, people are cut off, people become isolated,” Mr Jayo said.

“Workers can’t get to work, businesses don’t have workers at work, and people can’t afford days off anymore.

“The world just grinds to a stop, you can’t move, and you can’t do anything.”

A flooded Bruce Hwy at Goorganga Plains in the Whitsundays. Photo: Supplied

Member for Hinchinbrook Nick Dametto was frustrated by seeing the region cut off by floodwaters.

“I was up to my knees in it is probably the best way to describe it, working to making sure that we could get the right supplies and the right help to people that needed it most at the time,” he said.

“Having the trucks stop either side of the Bruce Hwy where it was shut was one of the most frustrating things ever.

“Those truck drivers are the lifeblood of the Queensland economy, without trucks Australia stops.”

Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto with Qld Premier David Crisafulli at the Ollera Creek bridge, north of Townsville, where a temporary bridge was put in place by the army before the bridge was rebuilt and reopened. Picture: NewsWire / Scott Radford-Chisholm

Mr Dametto called for flood mitigation measures to be included as part of the $9bn safety package announced for the Bruce Highway.

“Most of the betterment criteria of that package relates to safety improvements over taking lanes wide, centre lines, intersection upgrades, but nothing around flood mitigation,” he said.

“We want to see that criteria addressed to ensure that we can tap into that funding.”

Originally published as Flood-related closures of the Bruce Hwy cost over $300m since start of 2025