Renewed push for Bruce Highway fix as flooding cuts main road

A fresh push has been mounted for upgrades to keep the Bruce Highway high and dry, after it once again failed to help keep Queensland moving amid heavy rain along the east coast.

Flooding on the Bruce Highway at Goorganga Plains between Mackay and Proserpine. Picture: Daniel Hair/Severe Weather Australia.

Severe flooding continues to impact parts of north and far north Queensland, with a driver and a pet dog left stranded in a car near Cairns on Saturday night.

Two Queensland Fire Department crews arrived on the scene at Hansen Road at Walkamin, on the Atherton Tableland, about 8pm.

It is understood that the water of Granite Creek has flooded the road and is flowing rapidly, with concerns for rescuing the pair.

The wild weather and flooding has shut down critical sections of the Bruce Highway, sparking fresh calls to fix the vulnerable arterial in time for next year’s wet season.

Flights in and out of the Whitsunday Coast Airport were temporarily grounded on Saturday as flash flooding caused a mass evacuation, with the Bruce cut off between Lethebrook and Tobin Rd, Proserpine.

Two people were rescued after becoming trapped in floodwaters along the flooded Lethebrook Rd intersection, while other motorists were forced to ditch their cars on the highway at Goorganga Plains on Friday night as a tropical low combined with a south-easterly surge dumped rainfall totals in excess of 300mm in Mackay and Townsville.

The Bureau of Meteorology's Toolakea station north of Townsville recorded an impressive 346mm in the 12 hours to 5am, while 240mm fell in Proserpine – its heaviest December rainfall since 1990.

The extent of flooding between Mackay and Proserpine on Saturday after massive rainfall figures in the area. Picture: Daniel Hair/Severe Weather Australia.

Mill Rd, Black River, saw 238mm of rainfall, 237mm at Bluewater, 216mm at Bushland Beach, 216mm at Stony Creek and 203mm was recorded at Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic Island.

Townsville was also hit with its heaviest rains since 2009, with 127mm recorded on Friday.

Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm said flights out of the alternative Mackay Airport shot up to $1000 as scarce seats were snapped up by holiday-makers and FIFO workers desperately trying to keep their Christmas plans intact. Others were risking the roads.

“Every time it floods commuters are blocked from our major tertiary hospital, we lose produce distribution, freight stops, we lose our link to our airport,” Ms Camm said.

“People needing to go to emergency medical appointments in Brisbane are paying north of $800 this week because no one can fly out of Proserpine.”

Under the current 80:20 funding arrangement, the federal government committed $12m and the state government $3m to a flood mitigation study, however no further funding has been allocated for design or construction works.

Ms Camm said she would continue advocating for the Goorganga Plains upgrades to colleague Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg after the former Labor government failed to progress works or allocate funding towards the project in the 2024-25 state budget.

Drainage works have started on a second flood-prone site at Hamilton Plains, liberating access to beachside towns Airlie Beach, Cannonvale and Jubilee Pocket.

Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm says the Bruce Highway needs an urgent fix. Picture: John Gass

That project will see the Shute Harbour Rd linking Proserpine to the Bruce Highway flood-proofed. Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson said he was confident regional ministers Ms Camm and Dale Last would promote the interests of regional Queensland, including finishing the Bruce.

“We’ll use the ministerial leverage,” he said.

“The federal government collects 80 per cent of taxes and the state gets 17 per cent.

“It is an aggregator of the responsibility of the federal government, who collect the most tax, to step back from that funding.”

“In a first-world country as rich as Australia, you just cannot fathom the fact that a little bit of rain causes a major connective highway to go under.”

A flood watch alert remains active for areas between Cooktown and Mackay with heavy falls and storms possible north of Ingham.

Ms Camm said the state remained “well prepared” for the wet season and possible further flooding.

“We are well prepared in regards to the weather events and the ever changing situation in North Queensland,” she said.

“People are still taking risks on the roads.

“Please, if it’s flooded, forget it.”