Goorganga Plains section of Bruce Highway desperate for upgrades, no date given when works start

A North Queensland mayor has called on the government to urgently fix the stretch of highway between Mackay and Proserpine, notorious for going underwater in underwhelming rain events.

Words can’t do the picture justice - is this an acceptable highway? Photos: Robert Murolo

Mayor Greg Williamson has called on both the state and federal governments to “get their act together” and fix the Bruce Highway between Mackay and Proserpine.

The returning civic leader highlighted the Goorganga Plains as the biggest road issue for the Mackay district, labelling the conditions as “atrocious in the 21st century”.

“With a medium amount of rain a highway that carries the economy of Queensland will go underwater and not just little bits and pieces, but significant amounts of it,” Mr Williamson said.

“In this day and age to have that happen on a national highway between two very large and very prosperous centres in Queensland is just crazy.”

In January 2023 the highway at Goorganga Plains was cut for four days following torrential rain and hundreds of people, including truck drivers, families and tourists, were stranded.

Drone images of flooding at Thompson's Creek on the Bruce Highway looking north. Photos: Robert Murolo

It is an ongoing issue with which Greater Whitsunday local Gavin Steel is very familiar having lived in the area for more than four decades.

His home is at the start of the Plains on the Proserpine side.

“When it floods I have traffic backed up to Proserpine and I have ladies coming to my house to use the toilet because they’ve got nowhere to go,” the 52 year old said.

“Every time it rains... I make sure that I have the toilet ready for them.”

He said the flooded highway always cuts of the food supply from north to south and prevents access to the region’s airport.

Mayor Greg Williamson wants the state and federal government to urgently fund upgrades to the Bruce Highway at Goorganga Plains.

In mid 2023 a $15m business case, jointly funded by the federal and state government on an 80:20 basis, to preserve a corridor at Goorganga Plains was finalised.

A Transport and Main Roads spokesman said the business case assessed and recommended delivery options including identifying land requirements to upgrade the highway at the Goorganga Floodplain and was “subject to Australian Government approval”.

He said the project would be delivered under a package of works outlined as part of state government’s A Real Bruce Plan 2020 policy to “prioritise upgrades between Mackay and Proserpine... with a proposed jointly-funded $500m injection, with state funding locked in”.

However there seems to be no specific timeline for when the works are expected to be rolled out.

The TMR spokesman just said the current Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program 2023-24 to 2026-27 included the Goorganga Floodplain funding commitment.

“This is an area of Queensland and indeed of Australia that actually returns a huge amount of money to the public purse in terms of royalties particularly for mining and also for agriculture,” Mr Williamson said.

“And I think the federal and the state government need to get their act together and fix the highway between Mackay and Proserpine.”

Mr Williamson said because there were more representatives in the state house who live in the southeast corner “democracy is against us”.

“When the votes are there, that’s where the money’s going to go,” he said, adding “But it shouldn’t be done on that.”

“When you look at the $9-12bn that comes out of this region on an annualised basis… a couple of billion dollars spent once to fix the road between Mackay and Proserpine to my mind would be money well spent.”