Serial Bruce Highway pothole near Gympie ‘put lives at risk’

A Queensland couple have lost thousands of dollars due to a serial pothole on the Bruce Highway which they say left more than a dozen damaged cars pulled over at once.

A Brisbane couple has been put out thousands of dollars due to a serial pothole on the Bruce Highway they say put dozens of lives at risk.

David and Liz Warner were driving north towards Cairns on Thursday, March 28 when they hit a “sinkhole” between Gympie and Curra.

Despite travelling to the 60km/hr speed limit the impact took out both left tyres and the rear-left brake line on the couple’s four-wheel-drive, rendering it unable to be driven Mr Warner said.

“My wife rung triple-0 and got the police out to the incident as there was at one point over 15 cars (pulled over) with busted tyres. On that triple-0 call they indicated they had already been called,” he said.

David Warner was driving on the Bruce Highway north to Cairns when his four wheel drive was ruined by a pothole near Gympie. Picture: Brendan Radke

“Once police were on-site, no more vehicles were damaged.”

Mr Warner said “without action lives may have been lost” due to the sheer number of vehicles pulled over on the road’s slim shoulder, with a heavy traffic flow including B-double trucks passing by.

As they were travelling to Cairns for a month-long work placement, the couple had no choice but to get towed to Gympie where they said they secured the last available hire car.

Mr Warner said his tow truck driver told him the pothole had been causing havoc since 4pm the day prior and had already been unsuccessfully patched up.

“I feel there was no duty of care of Main Roads to drop the speed limit lower put a small diversion in place around the sinkhole that was present,” Mr Warner said.

“We’re paying first-world rates and getting third-world roads. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

David and Liz Warner were driving north up the Bruce Highway on Thursday March 28 when they hit a “sinkhole” between Gympie and Curra. Picture: Supplied

The pair has now had their hire car for several weeks, with repairs to their 4WD not expected to finish until early June.

“At the age of 49 this is my first ever insurance claim and I’m gutted the condition of the road is solely to blame,” Mr Warner said.

“We are now out of pocket considerable expenses and my insurance premium will now go up.”

A Transport and Main Roads spokesperson said wet weather in late March and early April led to “widespread damage” on many sections of the Bruce Highway between Gympie and Rockhampton.

“Maintenance crews promptly responded to address the pothole, among numerous others present in the area,” they said.

“Regrettably, due to the persistent rainfall, the repair materials became saturated, consequently leading to the recurrence of the pothole.

“Hazard signage and reduced speed limits were put in place to alert motorists, and once the rain stopped, the pothole patching was successful.”

The couple’s local MP and Transport and Main Roads Minister Bart Mellish encouraged motorists to look into the TMR’s claims process.

“It’s valuable for me to hear stories like this … keeping motorists safe on our roads is our priority,” he said.

Originally published as Serial Bruce Highway pothole near Gympie ‘put lives at risk’