No promises for highway

DEPUTY Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has flagged his interest in seeing more work on the Bruce Highway, but stopped short of specific promises during a stop in Townsville.

The issue of further funding for the main arterial road through the North was the most popular funding commitment sought by Townsville’s residents in a recent Townsville Bulletin survey.

Asked about the possibility of further funding for the highway between Townsville and neighbouring areas, Mr Joyce said issues with contractors had held up work between Mackay and Bowen.

“Looking at the area between Mackay and Bowen the other day, just in that section alone we’re spending $835m,” Mr Joyce said.

“We’ve had a problem with one of the contractors there that we’re trying to fix up.

“We’re spending about … just shy of a billion dollars a year that we’ve got allocated for the Bruce Highway in the forward estimates.”

In a recent poll taken by the Bulletin, a number of Herbert voters flagged upgrading the Bruce Highway as where the next government’s infrastructure spend should go.

“I’m very mindful of what we’ve done south of the Taro bypass all the way to Melbourne and we’ve got to continue that process,” Mr Joyce said.

“We’re not going to dual lanes all the way through; as much as possible we’re going to keep those expanded three

lanes with the alternate passing in either direction.

“You can see that work continuing on and then probably

more pronounced in areas around Townsville.

“As you move out, a long time ago, but in my time, you see we continue on the build of ring roads from Mackay, ring roads for Rockhampton.”

Mr Joyce said taking vehicles off the road and moving them inland was also a key, with the federal government promising more cash for the Charters Towers to Mungindi route in the federal budget.

The plan for the Inland Highway was pitched by Labor in the 2020 state election.

“That’ll take heavy vehicles on to roads that are flat, black and straight, and get them off Bruce Highway,” Mr Joyce said.

“It’s a better run for them, it’s more fuel efficient and they can hook up to the Newell. So we’ve got a real plan.”

Labor is also yet to make any promises about further Bruce Highway upgrades.