Bruce Hwy explosion: Truckies demand danger money for route
A planned reopening date of the Bruce Hwy has been put in place, as transport companies reveal they’re charging danger money for truckies to travel the notorious road.
QLD News
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Trucking companies are charging danger money for drivers to traverse Queensland’s notorious Bruce Highway, with some refusing to do the trip at all, as a date for a partial reopening of the highway has been revealed.
A massive chemical explosion in the aftermath of a crash that claimed the life of a motorist cut the highway in Central Queensland on Friday.
Then, one person, a 53-year-old pedestrian from Eli Waters, died on a detour route after being struck by a utility on the Burnett Highway west of Gayndah about 12.30am on Sunday.
The 50-year-old driver was unharmed and was being interviewed by police.
The Bruce Highway remained closed following the chemical explosion at Bororen, south of Gladstone, on Friday, where a truck carrying ammonium nitrate collided with a ute, killing the ute driver – a 21-year-old man from Koongal in Rockhampton – and leaving a large crater in the highway.
Transport and Main Roads on Monday said it was hoping to open a single lane under traffic control from early on Wednesday morning.
The department undertook clean-up activities and damage inspections of the road in Bororen on Sunday and said significant progress had been made in the removal of contaminated material covering the highway as a result of the explosion.
Trenches have also been excavated along the Bruce Highway within the blast zone in order to test pavements and TMR said they are currently awaiting these test results to provide confirmation of when the highway can safely re-open.
It comes as the chief executive of one of the largest Bruce Highway delivery services has warned freight delivery cannot continue on the road as it stands.
Followmont Transport chief executive Mark Tobin said several of the company’s trucks carrying food and pharmaceutical supplies had been delayed for at least two days due to Friday’s horror crash. He told suppliers to fly in any urgent medical supplies.
Bruce Highway infrastructure was far below the standard needed to transport freight, with many delivery services incurring added costs due to the dangers posed to drivers.
Mr Tobin said his employees were terrified to drive on the highway, even going as far as to request driving freight heading to Sydney and northern NSW where the roads were safer.
“The bigger picture is the freight path cannot continue with the infrastructure we’ve got,” Mr Tobin said.
“Our cost to do business in the last five years has probably gone up 26 per cent, we’re still using the same infrastructure in Queensland to move the freight that we were 10 years ago.
“They’ve (the government) got no idea of the task to move the freight to feed Queensland.
“There’s hundreds and hundreds of trucks out on that highway every day.
“They don’t have facilities to pull up. There’s no overtaking lanes … they haven’t got a vision.”
The Department of Transport and Main Roads on Sunday began damage assessment including structures, geotechnical, pavement, cultural heritage and environmental.
“TMR will then seek to determine the depth and length of damage to the Bruce Highway and develop repair methods,” a spokesman said.
“Once a solution is determined, TMR will be in a position to provide advice about interim traffic management and the potential time frame to reopen the Bruce Highway to traffic.”
Premier Steven Miles has ensured every community impacted by the Bruce Highway closure would be provided with essentials, sending a supply chain committee to assist with freight disruptions.
Mr Miles said Transport Minister Bart Mellish would visit the site on Monday as the highway remains closed.
“There will be freight disruptions, and we have a supply chain committee that works particularly with the supermarkets and their logistics providers to ensure that we make sure every community has their essentials and that committee will be stood up and activated,” Mr Miles said.
Woolworths said while they experienced some short delays, there were no major impacts to delivering produce and other food supplies.
“With the rail now reopen as of 6 o’clock last night, we can confirm our planned loads departed and there were only minor delays to a small number of stores,” a Woolworths spokesman said on Sunday.
A Coles spokesman said they also saw only slight delays. They said that due to the nature of Far North Queensland, the supermarket chain ensures it works ahead of time to have enough supply for customers in case of delays, including a distribution centre in Townsville.
Mr Tobin said he had sent 200 extra B-doubles up north since Friday but they were having to travel 600km more, adding at least six or seven hours to their travel time.
“The supply chain has been affected definitely,” he said.
“This week, as an industry, I wouldn’t even know how many millions it has cost us. But money is replaceable … two people have lost their lives.”
Mr Tobin urged members of the state government to drive the 1600km Bruce stretch themselves. “I don’t know how more people do not die, and I’m appalled that two more lives have to be lost and a highway … shut for days, for the government to say they need more funding.
“People don’t want to go to work because they don’t want to go on the Bruce Highway … I wouldn’t let my wife and kids drive up the Bruce Highway to Cairns in a car.”
Northern Bruce Action Group member Colin Dwyer, who with Tracy Cheffins drove more 1600km along the highway in July compiling a damning report, said long-term planning to reduce fatality rates needed to start now.
He said there were two phases to fixing the northern Bruce: fast-tracking of overtaking lanes and fixing narrow bridges and road pavement.
However the government needed to start talking about a plan to reduce fatalities.
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