Federal govt says Bruce Highway safety fixes to be done by 2032

A Queensland LNP MP has criticised plans to prioritise fixing the Bruce Hwy from Maryborough to Benaraby, saying the deadliest stretch lays between Gympie and Maryborough.

Upgrades to the Bruce Highway as part of the federal government’s newly announced $7.2 billion funding are expected to start this year, Federal Transport Minister Catherine King says, and be finished by 2032.

Ms King revealed the deadline in the wake of questions over the time frame of the rollout of the funding package announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on January 6, ahead of the 2025 election.

The questions were sparked by comments by Finance Minister Katy Gallagher in the days after the announcement at Gympie.

Speaking on ABC’s 7.30 program in the days following the announcement Ms Gallagher said “the costs (for the $7.2 billion funding)… will be reflected in the next budget update as they come into those forward estimates years”.

“It’s a long-term project,” Ms Gallagher said.

On Tuesday, January 21, Federal Wide Bay LNP MP Llew O’Brien called for greater clarity on the $7 billion package and when it was going to be rolled out, saying the region was “living in the middle of a crisis” on the road.

Drivers on the Bruce Highway should expect safer roads sooner rather than later according to the federal Transport Minister, but questions remain over when a notorious fatal stretch north of Gympie, most recently the site of a horror fatal crash which killed two men, will be getting fixed. Picture 7News

“The Bruce Highway is a piece of vital infrastructure that is killing people,” Mr O’Brien said in a social media post calling for clarity on the when and where of the funding.

“Time is absolutely critical,” he said.

“Every day this money doesn’t land is a day when someone could lose their life and that’s a high risk and a high probability on our section of the highway between Gympie and Maryborough.”

He further questioned why the stretch from Maryborough to Benaraby had been named as a priority when the road immediately north of Gympie, to Maryborough, accounted for a disproportionate share of fatalities.

Mr O’Brien said the stretch between the two Wide Bay towns amounted to only 4 per cent of the Bruce Highway’s total length, but had recorded 18 per cent of the total fatalities on it from the start of 2023 to the end of 2024.

Wide Bay LNP MP Llew O’Brien called for greater clarity on the $7 billion upgrade package and when it was going to be rolled out, saying the region was “living in the middle of a crisis” on the road.

These figures did not include the deaths of two men in a horror crash at Owanyilla on January 3, 2025.

On Wednesday, Ms King said there was “money this year for the Bruce Highway, money next year and money over the next six years after that to make this road safer, and save lives”.

“Funding is available starting from this year because we know how pressing the need is to make the Bruce Highway safer,” Ms King said.

“The money will be available in line with the Queensland Government’s capacity to deliver.

“The identification and prioritisation of projects funded under the package will be informed in consultation with the Queensland Government and the Bruce Highway Advisory Council.

“Works are expected to commence this year 2025, with all funded projects expected to be completed by 2032.”

Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg said Thursday he was asking the federal government to release the funding as soon as possible.

“I have written to the Federal Government asking for money to be urgently released so we can get to work on improving the Bruce Highway,” Mr Mickelberg said.

“The former state Labor Government let Queensland down, and the current condition of the Bruce Highway is nothing but a safety risk for the tens of thousands that drive it each day.

“Shovels will be in the ground this year.

“We fought hard to get our fair share of funding from the Federal Government and it will not be wasted.”

Originally published as Federal govt says Bruce Highway safety fixes to be done by 2032