Wide centre lines installed to cut crash toll on Bruce Hwy

WIDER centre lines will be rolled out on sections of the Bruce Hwy through the Fraser Coast in a move to improve one of our most dangerous roads.

Wider centre lines will be installed on sections of the Bruce Hwy to help prevent crashes. Picture: Megan Pope

WIDER centre lines will be rolled out on sections of the Bruce Hwy through the Fraser Coast in a move to improve one of our most dangerous roads.

After a successful trial near Gympie, the wider lines will be built on sections on about 45km of highway between Gympie and north of Gin Gin.

Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson said the new treatment involved separating centre lines with a one-metre median to increase the distance between both directions of traffic.

He said his department already had begun rolling out the wide centre line treatment. Mr Emerson said funding had been committed to implement a similar treatment along sections of the Bruce Hwy, where road width allowed.

"Already about 15km of wide centre lines on the Bruce Hwy north and south of Gympie has been installed where there is a high crash history," he said.

"Since this trial began, we have recorded significantly fewer crashes at these locations."

The Bruce Hwy near Gympie was known as a killer stretch after a series of fatal crashes. But with the wide centre lines and a reduced speed limit, the statistics are no longer dire.