Community
22 August, 2024
Bruce Hwy election focus
THE RACQ has joined forces with leading Queensland organisations to fight for a better Bruce Highway, with new data revealing it has an average Fatal and Serious Injury (FSI) crash rate three to five times higher than major national highways in New South Wales and Victoria.
Ahead of the state election in October, the RACQ, Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ), Queensland Farmers Federation (QFF), Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Queensland (RACS Qld), Queensland Trucking Association (QTA), and Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) are urging political parties to commit to a 10-year funding plan with the federal government to urgently eliminate all two-star sections of the Bruce Highway.
RACQ’s expert analysis of AusRAP crash data between 2018-2022 shows upgrades, including the installation of dual carriageways on the Hume and Pacific Highways, have almost eliminated the head-on crash risk – the crash type in over half (81) of fatalities on the Bruce Highway.
By contrast, 1398km of the Bruce Highway (from Gympie to Cairns) remains single-lane and undivided, leading to an average ‘per kilometre travelled’ FSI crash rate three times higher than rural sections of the Pacific Highway and five times higher than rural sections of the Hume Highway.
RACQ managing director David Carter said the shocking statistics highlighted the urgent need to ‘Fix the Bruce’.
“The Bruce Highway is the backbone of this state. It’s supposed to be a national highway but when you compare it to the Pacific or Hume, it’s substandard,” he said.
“Those interstate highways have rightfully been upgraded to three, four and five stars out of five for infrastructure safety, yet around half of the Bruce is still a poor two-star rating. In 2024, there is no way Queensland should have any two-star sections on the Bruce Highway.
“We know proper upgrades work and safer roads save lives. The Cooroy to Curra section of the Bruce Highway, which is now dual carriageway, has a similar FSI crash rate to rural sections of the Pacific and Hume, which means it’s five times lower than the single lane, undivided sections of the Bruce.
“We need a 10-year funding commitment from the state and federal governments to continue upgrading the Bruce Highway by widening narrow sections and bridges, installing more overtaking lanes and progressively duplicating the road to a dual carriageway standard, like the Hume and Pacific Highways in NSW and Victoria.”
While welcoming the state government’s extra $50 million a year in the budget, the groups warned it had been undermined by the federal government’s changed funding split from 80-20 with the State Government to 50-50.
They are seeking commitments that the state government will take an industry and government delegation to Canberra in November prior to next year’s federal budget to secure fair funding for the Bruce and other road funding and a return to the 80-20 federal-state government funding split.
LGAQ chief executive officer Alison Smith said safe, reliable transport was critical for communities and councils and Queensland mayors and the LGAQ had joined Premier Steven Miles in a two-level delegation to Canberra to reverse the 50-50.
“As the level of government closest to their communities, councils see the huge emotional toll that crash deaths and injuries create, even before you come to the economic cost,” she said. “Ensuring more funding flows to improve road safety across our decentralised state is critical to Queensland councils because it is critical to improving the liveability of their local communities.”
Queensland Farmers Federation chief executive officer Jo Sheppard said the Bruce Highway was an important corridor for the Queensland agriculture sector and regional communities.
“The Bruce Highway is a highway of state significance providing an important conduit for many agriculture industries, while also supporting economic development throughout the state,” she said.
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons’ Queensland trauma committee chairman Professor Martin Wullschleger said the organisation supported upgrades to the Bruce.
“An upgrade would not only ease the load on doctors and health services but most importantly reduce the burden of crashes with injuries and fatalities,” he said.
Queensland Trucking Association chief executive Gary Mahon said: “The road freight industry is heavily reliant on the Bruce Highway as a freight route to deliver into regional communities, get fresh produce to market and resources to ports.”
