The Bruce Highway, once known as the Great North Coast Road, was officially opened in 1934 and named after the state’s Minister for Public Works, Henry Bruce.

What was once a string of roads linking Queensland’s south to north had now become a 1679km bitumen-sealed journey that nearly 100 years later would still be a topic of conversation, culminating in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s $7.2bn upgrade pledge in January 2025.

The string of tragedies over the years inevitably has drawn endless calls for upgrades, many of which critics will claim continue to fall on deaf ears.

These are the tales of 30 years of pleas and promises to fix the Bruce Highway >>>

November 1995

A $150 million upgrading of the Bruce Hwy between Brisbane and Cooroy would benefit Pine

Rivers residents, said Federal Member for Dickson Michael Lavarch.

The work included widening the highway to six lanes between Brisbane and Caboolture.

“Not only will it make travel on the Bruce Hwy safer and more convenient, importantly, it will take traffic off our suburban streets – making them safer, less congested and quieter,’’ he said.

September 1997

Cooloola Shire Council pushed for urgent upgrading of the Bruce Highway from Gympie south to Cooroy on the Sunshine Coast, with Mayor Mick Venardos calling it the region’s hell road.

Cr Venardos said it was a crime that so many people were dying every year on the highway black spot.

“And the number of horrific deaths speaks for itself in terms of the need for an urgent upgrade,” he said.

January 1998

A push to eliminate a deadly “black spot’’ on the Bruce Highway at the Sunshine Coast was being led by acting Federal Transport and Regional Development Minister Alex Somlyay.

Mr Somlyay called a top-level summit of road experts to discuss ways of improving the notorious intersection at Eumundi in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

The move followed the death of a Hervey Bay teenager in a three-car collision at the intersection which brought the black spot’s death toll to five in slightly more than a year.

May 1998

The State Government was accused of putting the upgrade of the Bruce Hwy between Dakabin and Burpengary on the “backburner’’.

State Member for Kallangur Ken Hayward said nothing had been done to advance the six-lane upgrade despite planning having started three years prior.

Consulting engineers Maunsell Pty Ltd completed a planning report for the project in 1995.

It involved expanding the highway between Boundary Rd, Dakabin, and Uhlmann Rd, Burpengary, to six lanes by 2000.

“With barely 18 months until the turn of the century, the project is no further advanced and residents of the northern suburbs who use the highway are experiencing longer and longer delays,’’ Mr Hayward said.

September 1998

Prime Minister John Howard promised to spend $25 million on upgrading the Bruce Hwy if the Coalition was returned to government.

The work would be carried out between Pine Rivers and Caboolture, and would include widening the highway to six lanes – and eight where appropriate.

Traffic figures showed the highway carried 64,000 vehicles a day – approaching saturation point at peak hours.

May 1999

The federal budget allocation of $35 million to upgrade the Bruce Hwy was branded as too little too late.

State Transport Minister Steve Bredhauer was concerned it would do little to address the traffic snarls.

A spokesman for Mr Bredhauer said: “Our estimate is that the total cost for that project will be $200 million. So this allocation is only about $30 million of what was needed.’’

He said the State Government would continue to lobby Canberra for more money.

February 2000

The state government was accused of snatching $9.5 million from a Bruce Highway upgrade project to spend on “pet projects” in the south of the state.

National Party candidate for Burdekin Terry Morato said he was outraged the project, for which funding had been allocated at a federal level, was not included in Main Roads’ 2000-2001 budget.

The relevant roadworks were for a five-kilometre stretch of the highway between Collinsons and Didgeridoo lagoons.

The upgrade was expected to create about 40 construction jobs in the Burdekin, with flow-on benefits to the local economy.

February 2001

Member for Mulgrave Warren Pitt demanded that the Federal Government release funding for the Bruce Highway south of Cairns.

“The people of Far North Queensland have been short changed by the Federal Government which has been caught out deliberately withholding vital funding for the Bruce Highway,” Mr Pitt said.

“They have stashed away $2.9 billion, according to their own Auditor General.

“This has just come to light and makes us wonder why every time we fill up our tank with petrol or diesel we are handing over 40c per litre in tax.

“Our roads would be so much better if the Federal Government lived up to its own legislated commitment. Just imagine what our share of a national $2.9 billion investment in roads and road safety over the last six years could have delivered.”

March 2002

The Federal Government promised to spend $1 million to upgrade a 4km section of the Bruce Highway near Caboolture.

Road Services Pty Ltd was announced as the successful tenderer to repair and strengthen two northbound lanes between Uhlmann Rd and the Caboolture-Bribie Island Rd interchange.

Federal Member for Longman Mal Brough said the Uhlmann Road-Caboolture River section of the Bruce Highway carried more than 50,000 vehicles a day.

Mr Brough said the Federal Government recognised the need to keep the principal highway link between Caboolture and Brisbane in good condition.

April 2002

Two notorious black spots on the Bruce Highway were identified as being in urgent need of upgrading.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Steve Bredhauer said a road safety audit of the Bruce Highway in the Burdekin region had identified concerns at the intersections with Kirknie Road and Rossiters Hill.

Mr Bredhauer said he had written asking federal Transport and Regional Services Minister John Anderson to consider additional funding of $2.5 million for those sections of the highway due to “significant crash histories’’.

Burdekin Mayor John Woods said the upgrade was vital.

December 2003

Cairns and Townsville put aside their traditional rivalry to ask State and Federal governments to spend up to $80 million to bring the Bruce Highway up to a standard expected of national motorways.

The chamber of commerces in both cities said the flood-prone Bruce was hampering trade links and logistics between Cairns and Townsville.

Describing the busy road as substandard, the organisations called for a complete upgrade.

A report released by the Cairns chamber outlines three key locations that flood.

The report says the road is cut in Ingham at Tokalon Rd by an average of 22 hours each year, in Gordonvale at the Mulgrave River for about 12 hours, and in the worst-hit area, Tully, for an average of 55 hours.

February 2004

State and federal politicians were urged by a Cairns business leader to stop blaming each other for the state of the Bruce Highway and start floodproofing it.

Cairns Chamber of Commerce president Bob Norman said the “duck-shoving” going on between state and federal politicians about whose responsibility it was to fix the highway had to stop.

“We need to get a high-level meeting between all the players and sort this thing out. It’s too silly not to,” he said.

January 2005

Main Roads Queensland was to begin a $2 million study on how best to upgrade the Bruce Highway crossing through the Cardwell Range.

Nationals Senator Ron Boswell said an improved road through the steep range between Cardwell and Ingham presented formidable challenges.

“They include its impact on sensitive rainforest areas and construction methods to prevent run-off washing mud and debris on to the Great Barrier Reef,” Senator Boswell said.

He said the Government had committed $12.5 billion to improve national road and rail infrastructure over the next five years.

October 2005

The Burdekin was right in the middle of the state’s worst section of highway according to RACQ.

The Bowen to Tully stretch of the Bruce Highway attracted the highest number of complaints about highways with 29 separate issues recorded according to RACQ executive manager traffic and safety John Wikman.

“Most respondents identified the narrowness, roughness, patched-up nature and lack of overtaking lanes on the Bruce Highway as inadequate,’’ Mr Wikman said.

“The Bowen to Tully stretch was identified as disgraceful, flood-prone and the most potholed section of the Bruce, with 29 separate complaints.”

March 2006

Russian roulette traffic games were being played at the Bruce Highway-Mt Low Parkway intersection and residents want traffic lights installed.

Yabulu resident Julie Sivic distributed a petition throughout the Northern Beaches to push for traffic lights to be installed at the dangerous intersection before another fatality occurred.

The intersection along the Bruce Highway stretch from Woodlands Shopping Centre past Mt Low Parkway to Veales Road, was one of many sites that have been identified by the Department of Main Roads as needing a major upgrade from single lane to a four-lane highway with more traffic light intersections.

February 2007

The Far North’s flood-prone Bruce Highway would be made weatherproof under a federal Labor government, Opposition treasury spokesman Wayne Swan vowed.

Mr Swan told a meeting of civic and business leaders federal Labor would jointly fund the multimillion-dollar upgrade, including between Cairns and Townsville, with the State Government.

“We share the objective of floodproofing the road,” Mr Swan said.

October 2007

Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd pledged a five-year, $2.2 billion program to upgrade the Bruce Highway in Queensland if Labor was elected.

The promise bettered the Federal Government’s $2 billion commitment for the same road, which stretches 1700km north from Brisbane.

The work would include duplicating some sections, building new bridges and overtaking lanes.

It would improve safety, reduce flooding and fix bottlenecks on the highway, said Mr Rudd in the marginal Liberal seat of Herbert in Townsville.

June 2008

A survey confirmed what most Burdekinites already know, the Bruce Highway between Bowen and Townsville was below par.

The stretch of road was listed as the third worst state main road or national highway in Queensland by the RACQ.

February 2009

The pothole-ridden Bruce Highway caused motorists to weave between the sizeable divots in the bitumen as heavy rain continued to erode the nation’s number one highway.

However motorists can only expect patch up works for the next two years.

A Main Roads spokesman said the upgrade was an election promise of the federal government as part of the Building Australia Program (2009-2014).

“Main Roads is progressing well with planning for this future upgrade, and if funding becomes available, Main Roads will be well positioned to deliver the construction of this project by the end of 2011,’’ the spokesman said.

October 2010

Queensland’s peak motoring body renewed calls for a complete upgrade of the Bruce Highway by 2020.

RACQ spokesman Jim Kershaw said the highway, which starts north of Brisbane and ends in Cairns, should be the best road in Queensland, but was among the worst.

“Once it rains, every weakness is shown up very quickly,’’ Mr Kershaw said.

March 2011

The shocking stretch of the Bruce Highway where at least 50 people had died in the previous decade again topped the RACQ’s list of Queensland’s worst roads.

The 40-plus km stretch of highway between Cooroy and Gympie was named the state’s worst based on crash data compiled between 2003 to 2007.

The peak motoring body demanded a duplication of the stretch, claiming it was overloaded, too narrow, and fatally unforgiving of driver error.

RACQ spokesman John Wickman said there were 172 casualty crashes and 25 deaths on the road in the four-year period.

January 2012

The release of the Australian Road Assessment Program report on Bruce Highway danger spots highlighted the importance of a comprehensive plan to upgrade it, according to Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace.

“The Bruce Highway is a federally funded road but only Labor has a plan to take to the Australian Government to get the funds we need,” he said.

“Our plan … identifies 110 priority projects, including 340km of highway duplication, 50 new overtaking lanes, intersection upgrades, bridge replacements and 10 proposed ring roads, bypasses and deviations.”

March 2013

The Newman Government accused Julia Gillard of ignoring the Bruce Highway after she offered $1 billion for a motorways network in western Sydney.

Ms Gillard’s offer was rebuffed but it sparked an outcry from Queensland Transport Minister Scott Emerson, who said he had been waiting for months on an answer from Canberra for a joint $5 billion upgrade to the Bruce Highway in the next decade.

The state offered a $1 billion investment to be matched with $4 billion from the Federal Government under a typical 80/20 funding split.

March 2014

The Far North was one step closer to an upgrade of the notoriously dangerous Bruce Highway, but Federal Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch continued to lobby for a second major access road into the city.

The Land Transport Infrastructure Amendment Bill was passed by parliament, mapping out infrastructure priorities as part of the Government’s $35.5 billion commitment to delivering needed upgrades across the country.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss said the bill had replaced Labor’s Nation Building program.

May 2018

The Bruce Highway between Pine Rivers and Caloundra was to be widened to six lanes after a $760 million allocation in the federal budget.

Federal LNP Member for Dickson Peter Dutton said the 60km between Pine Rivers and Caloundra was used by 60,000 motorists every day, making it the most heavily trafficked section of the entire Bruce Highway.

“Our region is growing rapidly and we are making sure this key artery copes better with that growth,” Mr Dutton said.

“Local families who travel on the Bruce — north or south — understand the need for this investment.”

July 2018

Queensland’s peak motoring body exposed the Bruce Highway as the Sunshine State’s worst road, along with nine other “unroadworthy roads”.

RACQ spokeswoman Lucinda Ross said the 2018 survey attracted 1643 responses, with more than 600 substandard roads nominated.

“The Bruce has been on RACQ’s priority list for years, and drivers agree, rating the highway Queensland’s most unroadworthy road,” Ms Ross said.

“Motorists raised a number of issues along the 1600km route, from congestion in the southeast, to flooding risks and rough surfaces in the central Queensland section.”

February 2019

More overtaking lanes, safer intersections and floodproofing along the Bruce Highway were part of a $603 million spend on Queensland’s main traffic corridor north and south of Townsville.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the State Government knew the Bruce Highway was the “lifeblood” of the Townsville region.

“As the national highway linking the north with the far north and the southeast, the Palaszczuk Government recognises the absolute importance of a safe and efficient Bruce Highway to Townsville and its economy,” he said.

Thuringowa MP Aaron Harper said the $44 million project, jointly funded by the Federal Government, would reduce the risk of collisions.

April 2019

Major upgrades to the Bruce Highway and a new bridge over the Pine River were part of a $1.5 billion plan unveiled by Federal Labor.

The announcements were made in Bald Hills by Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development Anthony Albanese. They included:

■ $1.5 billion for an upgrade of the Gateway Motorway from Bracken Ridge to Pine River and the northern suburbs to Caboolture.

■ An upgrade at the Dohles Rocks Rd intersection, new bridge over the Pine River and new feeder roads to take local traffic off the highway.

■ Matching the Coalition’s funding of $100 million to duplicate the Linkfield Rd Overpass at Bald Hills.

February 2020

Long-term businesses that relied for decades on Bruce Highway travellers for trade feared the effects of major upgrades have wiped out their advertising advantage.

The Caloundra Rd to Sunshine Motorway stretch of the major highway was undergoing a billion-dollar ­upgrade, but the vital works were taking a toll on their takings.

Opals Down Under and The Skin Thing, both Glenview businesses of more than 30 years in their locations, were suffering from the recent changes to the northbound off-ramp.

Opals Down Under manager Rhys Fox said they’d noticed a physical drop-off in customers in-store, since the off-ramp exit was shifted back to Steve Irwin Way.

January 2021

Roads Minister Mark Bailey described upgrades to the Bruce Highway at Black River as “safe” despite community concerns.

Black River residents raised concerns about the highway upgrade, saying the plans could put lives at risk.

But the Minister said all vehicles approved for highway use, including B-doubles, defence vehicles, cars towing horse floats, boats and caravans, would be able to use the new section of road safely.

The upgrade meant road users coming from Black River and Bowden roads will only be able to turn left in and left out, forcing people towing horse floats to perform a U-turn in just 235m.

In late 2020 residents banded together to put forward a list of alternative options including an overpass and traffic lights, saying there was not enough room to make a U-turn safely.

October 2022

Queensland was due to get $1.47 billion in infrastructure spending spearheaded by $586.4 million for a major upgrade of the M1 Bruce Highway just north of Brisbane.

There would also be $200 million to upgrade another 12.9km stretch of the highway between Mango Hill and South Caboolture, expanding it from six to eight lanes.

Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese said sound and planned infrastructure investment in Queensland creates jobs, builds opportunity and unlocks economic growth.

November 2023

Almost half Queensland’s Bruce Highway had a two-star safety rating or less, a secret audit of the state’s roads revealed, with sections in the state’s regions having the bulk of the dangerous conditions.

The road safety data, provided to state governments by the Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP), revealed the data from 2019 showed 45.2 per cent of the Bruce Highway was rated just two stars out of five, compared 44.1 per cent that were rated three stars, and just 10 per cent that received four or five stars, according to analysis of the data done by the Australian Automobile Association.

November 2024

Three people a month had been killed on the Bruce Highway in 2024 amid the state’s spiralling road toll, with Premier David Crisafulli promising to do more to fix Queensland’s “goat track”.

The government’s first action will be reconstituting an advisory body to sort out a “long-term strategy” for the highway – a move the Opposition believes won’t save a single life.

Mr Crisafulli said the state government must “do more” on the Bruce Highway, vowing to get an advisory body up-and-running by the end of the year as promised while continuing to pile pressure on the federal government to put forward a larger share of cash for the road.

January 2025

Major Bruce Highway upgrades will be funded in the 2025-26 state budget and begin by the end of the year, after both sides of federal politics committed to a $7.2bn cash injection.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Queensland announced the extra money to lift Bruce Highway’s entire 1673km stretch to a minimum three-star safety rating.

The huge win for Queensland follows The Courier-Mail’s Help Our Highway campaign, which launched in April 2024 revealing more than half the Bruce failed basic safety standards and calling for significant investment to fix it.