Dawson MP Andrew Willcox launches campaign for Bruce Highway upgrades

A week after an explosion destroyed a section of the Bruce Highway, a local road safety group have pitched ideas to stop fatigue and make the highway surrounding Mackay safer for truckies.

A community road safety advocacy group has targeted one plot of land near the Bruce Highway for development into a heavy vehicle rest stop.

The Road Accident Action Group (RAAG) is calling on council, state government and federal government to support its proposal to develop a plot of land in Paget into a multipurpose rest stop.

RAAG chairman Rod Erwin said the nearest heavy vehicle rest stop at Waverley Creek, 160km south of Mackay, was insufficient and a new facility was necessary to reduce fatigue related crashes.

Dawson MP Andrew Wilcox and RAAG chairman Rod Erwin spoke about improving the quality of the Bruce Highway and road safety. Photo: Fergus Gregg

“We’re looking to reduce fatigue related incidents,” Mr Erwin said.

“Part of that is providing appropriate rest areas and proper facilities for heavy vehicles to pull off the road.”

Mr Erwin said that the only heavy vehicle parking area in Mackay, located at the BP in Paget, was overflowing with drivers forced to park on side roads while they rest.

The solution, according to Mr Erwin, is to build a new facility at the vacant lot across the road from the existing BP truck stop in Paget.

RAAG are proposing their new rest stop across the road from the BP.

The new facility would include an inspection station, driver changeover facility, accommodation, caravan/RV rest stop, dump point, electric vehicle charging point and a driver reviver.

Dawson federal MP Andrew Willcox has thrown his support behind RAAG and pointed to his petition ‘Back the Bruce’ which as of writing has secured more than 1000 signatures.

“We want to reduce or totally eliminate the road toll,” Mr Willcox said.

“This region of ours contributes so much from royalties and agriculture.

“In my stretch of the Bruce Highway in the electorate of Dawson, the best rating we can maintain is two.”

The LNP under Deb Frecklington pitched a four-lane Bruce Highway from Brisbane to Cairns to voters in 2020 for the Queensland state election.

When asked if that’s what should be done now, federal MP Mr Willcox said that he’d love a dual carriageway Bruce, but prioritising more overtaking lanes and driver revivers was a starting point.

“Let’s get the plan together … so when we are trying to build the dual carriageway, we don’t waste any money,” Mr Willcox said.

In his campaign Mr Willcox advocates a return to the 80 per cent federal funded 20 per cent state funded model after Prime Minister Albanese changed the model to 50:50.

RAAG presented their plan for the rest area to the Mackay regional council infrastructure committee and will be seeking funding from the federal government’s Heavy Vehicle Rest Areas initiative, which has allocated $140m to the construction of heavy vehicle rest areas.

Originally published as Dawson MP Andrew Willcox launches campaign for Bruce Highway upgrades