Notorious Bruce Hwy gets an extra $250m … in three years

Significant extra funding to fix the Bruce Highway won’t be seen for another three years as the state government releases a new plan to improve safety.

Significant extra funding to fix the Bruce Highway won’t be seen for another three years as the state government releases a new plan to improve safety.

Following advocacy by The Courier-Mail and NRMA Insurance through the Help Our Highway campaign, the government will increase its annual Bruce Highway funding commitment by $250m each year – but it won’t start until the 2027-28 financial year.

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The 1673km highway linking Brisbane to Cairns will receive a suite of safety upgrades including wider centre lines with audio line marking, more overtaking lanes, rest areas and intersection upgrades.

Motorists will get a better warning of flood risks through the development of a “technical solution”, the government said.

A whole corridor fatigue management plan would also audit rest stops and an advisory group established to recommend improvements.

A 15-year and 30-year highway action plan has been released by the government and endorsed by the Bruce Highway Trust Advisory Council.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Bart Mellish (front) with Premier Steven Miles. Picture: David Clark

The state government has pledged additional investment in technology and safety improvements.

A Department of Transport and Main Roads spokeswoman said it would deliver “a more reliable national highway”, with $48m allocated to the Gairloch Floodway in the federal budget to help reduce the effect of flooding closures on isolated communities.

The state government’s 30-year Bruce Highway plan is aimed at guiding the government’s “ambitious target” of reducing the rate of fatalities along the Bruce Highway by 60 per cent by 2030.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Bart Mellish said the funding injection and plans would help improve safety on the notorious stretch of road.

He said the 15-year plan would build on more than $6bn in existing future investments across the four-year forward estimates.

“With record investments over the past nine years, a renewed annual funding commitment and some fantastic new projects and initiatives, Queenslanders know that a Labor government will deliver,” he said.

“Projects that support the Bruce and that help to ease congestion on our main highway are also an important part of our Bruce plan, like the $1bn Inland Freight Route and our investment in the Queensland beef corridors.”