Bruce Hwy crisis comes to a head with massive crash, 100km gridlock
Furious Queenslanders have demanded urgent action to fix the Bruce Highway after a horror smash left one man fighting for life and the road cut for almost 24 hours.
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Furious Queenslanders have demanded urgent action to fix the Bruce Highway after a horror smash involving four B-double trucks and two ambulances left one man fighting for life and the road cut for almost 24 hours.
Emergency services rushed to the scene of a four truck pile up on the Bruce Highway at Gindoran south of Miriam Vale just before 2am Tuesday.
Two ambulances responding to the pileup also crashed in the thick fog on a notoriously dangerous stretch of the highway.
The area has only a two-star Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP) rating – a five-star scale with one star being the least safe.
A man in his 50s was rushed to hospital with life-threatening hip, leg and head injuries, a man in his 20s was taken to Gladstone Hospital in a serious condition and a man in his 20s was taken to Bundaberg Hospital in a stable condition.
The Courier-Mail’s Help Our Highway campaign, which launched in April, revealed almost half the Bruce Highway failed basic safety ratings and just 10 per cent was assessed as extremely safe, with stretches in regional Queensland emerging as the worst danger zones.
A near-100km stretch of the Bruce Highway was closed for most of Tuesday after the crash, with one lane expected to open at midnight.
The crash comes just days after the state of the Bruce Highway emerged as the No.1 issue at a Bush Summit in Townsville hosted by The Courier Mail and regional mastheads.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hinted at a long-term multibillion-dollar commitment to “finish” the Bruce Highway after being quizzed about why all three major highways in his home state of NSW are now dual carriageways while the Bruce in Queensland is not.
The crash has prompted calls from the community for urgent action.
Owner of Liberty Colosseum Creek Motel at Colosseum Jadin Kotradya said the stretch of road was “very dangerous”.
“It’s very dangerous when it’s foggy and there are lots of potholes,” Mr Kotradya said.
“Three days ago I drove to Brisbane at 4am and I couldn’t see the lines, even with our high beams on.
“I could only drive at 60km/h in a 100 zone, in the early morning it is scary. We see so many accidents every few days with big trucks or small dings.”
Mr Kotradya said the condition of the road was not suitable for night driving.
“It’s not good to be driving a small car along there, you need a big one,” Mr Kotradya said. “Going up to Miriam Vale from Gin Gin, it’s quite a windy road that goes up and down.”
Former Queensland premier Campbell Newman blasted the “inaction” of the government after the crash.
He described Tuesday morning’s multi-vehicle crash on the Bruce as “extraordinary scenes” as nearly 100km of highway was closed just south of Miriam Vale, saying the government needed to take action now.
“They haven’t had a plan,” Mr Newman said.
“When I was thrown out of office in 2015 we went to that election promising a 10-year plan for the Bruce Highway … we were getting the federal government on board (and) it was billions of dollars we said we’d spend.
“And we were also looking at the proceeds of asset leasing, controversial I know but proceeds from that would fund things like the Bruce.
“It’s a very dangerous road but a critically important one. Events of the last 18 hours have shown how bad it is in the vicinity of Gladstone … extraordinary scenes … on a stretch where it’s very, very busy they need to look at having a dual carriageway and a solid long-term plan.”
Northern Bruce Action Group members Colin Dwyer and Tracy Cheffins drove more than 1600km along the highway in July, compiling 250 pieces of data, finding many areas failed basic safety checks.
The pair met with Senator Pauline Hanson, MP Bob Katter and met with federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King representatives last week.
“I found Mr Dwyer’s report very alarming, especially the fatality and head-on crash figures, and the fact the Bruce Highway appears to be significantly underfunded compared to major highways in other states,” Ms Hanson said.
“I’ve driven much of the highway myself, many times. There aren’t enough overtaking lanes for a highway crowded with trucks and caravans.
“The bridges are in poor shape. I think the highway is also plagued by poor workmanship, which ultimately adds to the cost of maintaining it.”
A spokeswoman for the Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Minister Catherine King said they were making significant, necessary and overdue investments in the Bruce Highway, with more than $10 billion committed to make it safer.
The scene on Tuesday was described as “chaotic” and paramedics had to catch a lift in a fire truck to access those injured.
Queensland Ambulance Service clinical operations director Tony Hucker said the paramedics crashed coming around a bend at a low speed in thick fog.
Mr Hucker said paramedics treated three seriously injured people for hours who were trapped in their vehicles.
Another ambulance had arrived at the crash prior to the other ambulances that crashed.
“They’re very committed to their communities and it just shows despite having a distressing experience by having a crash themselves they were able to crack on and continue and provide really good care for these patients,” Mr Hucker said.
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