Bruce Highway: No firm plans to fix Qld’s deadliest major artery

Major plans for the future of the Bruce Highway have not been finalised despite being written 18 months ago, it can be revealed.

Major plans for the future of the Bruce Highway have not been finalised despite being written 18 months ago, it can be revealed.

Transport Minister Bart Mellish pinned the delay on the federal government’s decision to make states and territories pay more for road projects – on the same day Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stood in Gladstone and did not answer if the Bruce Highway would ever be finished.

The Bruce Highway Trust Advisory Committee – made up of industry leaders and community representatives – was set up in 2020 to craft Queensland’s blueprints for the route.

This included three five-year rolling action plans and a road map for the Bruce Highway to 2030.

Final drafts on the action plans were submitted to the government in September 2022.

But 18 months later the road maps have not been finalised, with Mr Mellish confirming he had not yet seen them himself – however he wanted to get the documents finished as soon as possible.

Mr Mellish blamed the federal government for the delay, after a nationwide infrastructure review resulted in a decision to make state’s pay for at least half of new road and rail projects in a major departure from the previous 80:20 split.

Mr Mellish said he was “absolutely” making a case to his federal counterparts to have the funding split decision reversed, but the government was at the mercy of the upcoming federal budget announcement.

“We’re putting our case forward to the federal government on what our priorities are and what we think they should be funding,” he said.

“I’ll let their budget process take its course but we’re really standing up for a range of Bruce Highway projects.”

Mr Albanese was asked in Gladstone – in the electorate on Flynn where more than 50 per cent of the Bruce Highway is only rated two stars – why the federal government had slashed funding, and in response spruiked is knowledge of the 1700km stretch.

“I’m very familiar with the Bruce Highway. I’m big in Bororen, which is just south of here, the pub. Ended up there at dinner a few times, highly recommended,” he said.

“So, I’m a prime minister who’s not a Queenslander but I tell you what, I know about the Bruce Highway, and so does Catherine and so does the Premier of Queensland, and we’re getting on with it. But the truth is that the former government, federal government, talked and talked and talked. What they didn’t do was provide funds and get on with it.”

When asked if the Bruce Highway would ever be finished, he responded: “I think I just answered the Bruce Highway pretty comprehensively.”

A spokeswoman for Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Catherine King said the government had reined in funding to avoid project blowouts and ensure states were fully committed to their projects.

“We are taking the time to properly plan and assess infrastructure projects rather than promising impossible delivery timelines and making unrealistic cost assumptions as we saw under the previous Coalition Government,” she said.

“The change to 50:50 funding of infrastructure projects will ensure that there is commitment to deliver the projects from both the Australian and State or Territory Government, while enabling federal funding to be spread to more projects.”