Upgrades for highway

MORE than $33m will be pumped into the Bruce Highway in the next 12 months in a bid to make one of the North’s most dangerous stretches of road a little safer.

The state and federal government have announced eight projects will be completed, with some already underway, between Ayr and Ingham.

It comes after there have been nine deaths on North Queensland roads this year, including three on the Bruce

Highway. Amid the federal election, there were renewed calls for the Bruce Highway to be upgraded in the North, with the community identifying it as one of the key promises it would like politicians to deliver on.

The upgrades will include road widening, new overtaking lanes and upgrading access and facilities at the Christmas Creek heavy vehicle rest area.

Works at Rollingstone are due to be completed in August, while the Christmas Creek rest

area upgrade started in March and will be ongoing until later this year, weather and construction conditions permitting.

The main works include road widening and a new, northbound overtaking

opportunity between Leichhardt Creek and Lilypond Creek, midway between Townsville and Ingham. This project started in March and is expected to be complete in mid 2023.

Intersection upgrades at Ingham are due to start in October 2022 and be completed in late 2022, while the Alligator Creek and Nome intersection improvements are due to start later this year and be completed in mid-2023.

Federal Transport and Regional Development Minister Catherine King said the Bruce Highway was the “lifeblood” of North Queensland, and the government wanted to do its bit to make it safer.

The projects are worth $33.843m, with the federal government contributing $31.61m. “We will soon start improvements to the Bruce Highway intersections with Allendale, Three

Sisters and Muntalunga drives,” Ms King said.

“Works are nearing completion to install a guardrail at Rossiter’s Hill to reduce the

likelihood of motorists leaving the roadway and striking roadside hazards.”

State Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the Queensland government had fully funded the installation of additional guardrails along the highway at Nome. “Guardrail is an important safety device and helps to protect vehicles from exiting the road into more dangerous areas during an accident,” he said.

“We know that regional communities disproportionately shoulder the burden of lives lost on

our roads, so these works will help significantly in reducing the risk between Ayr and Ingham.”

Thuringowa MP Aaron Harper said the projects would generate jobs, and continue to benefit Townsville.