- The Miles Government is increasing its annual funding for the Bruce Highway
- Following significant investment over the past nine years, the Miles Government is also releasing its strategic vision for the Bruce Highway, the 15-year Vision and Action Plans for the Bruce Highway and the Safer Bruce 2030 Action Plan
- New initiatives announced in the 2024-25 Budget include an investigation into advance warning flood alerts and the development of a fatigue management strategy
The Miles Government will increase its annual Bruce Highway funding commitment to $250 million per annum from 2027-28 onwards, ensuring the 'backbone of Queensland' continues to receive the necessary funding to undertake progressive upgrade works and complete the big projects that will take pressure off the Bruce.
The Miles Government has money on the table for important safety, capacity and flood immunity projects along the Bruce, continuing the record investments made over the past nine years, including:
- The $470 million O'Connell River to Proserpine (Goorganga Floodplain) flood immunity upgrade to improve flood immunity at Thompson Creek, Goorganga Creek and Lethebrook Creek and provide overtaking lanes north and south of the Bruce Highway at Goorganga. These projects are funded under the existing $500 million federal and state funding commitment for the Bruce Highway, with details subject to Australian Government agreement.
- The development of a whole-of-corridor fatigue management strategy including an audit of rest stops, with an advisory group to be established, drawn from road users and community representatives (including truckies and the heavy vehicle industry, tourism operators and drivers).
- Progressing an investigation into the development of a technical solution to provide motorists more advance warning of flood risk at particular Bruce Highway locations.
The Miles Government has also today released the 15-year Vision and Action Plans for the Bruce Highway and the Safer Bruce 2030 Action Plan, endorsed by the Bruce Highway Trust Advisory Council, and finalised following the Australian Government's Infrastructure Review in 2023.
The Bruce Highway Advisory Council oversaw the development of a 15-year vision and three, five-year rolling Action Plans and the Safer Bruce 2030 Action Plan to unlock economic growth, build flood resilience and improve safety.
The priorities outlined in this 15-year Vision and Action Plans will inform future investment decisions of federal and state governments.
The Vision and Action Plans for the Bruce Highway and this increased $250 million annual funding commitment builds on the great work already completed through the Bruce Highway Upgrade Program over the last decade, which has focused on improving capacity, safety and flood resilience along the full length of the Bruce Highway.
Major projects already delivered under the Bruce Highway Upgrade Program include:
- the six-laning between Caloundra Road and the Sunshine Motorway and between Caboolture-Bribie Island Road and Steve Irwin Way.
- The full upgrade of the Cooroy to Curra section of the Bruce Highway (the Gympie Bypass) is nearing completion, with the final section due for completion at the end of the year (weather and construction conditions permitting).
- In central Queensland, completed major projects include the Yeppen Flood Plain Upgrade south of Rockhampton, the Rockhampton Northern Access Upgrade and Stage 1 of the Mackay Ring Road.
- In north Queensland, the existing program has delivered the Haughton River Floodplain Upgrade, the Townsville Ring Road, Cattle and Francis Creek Upgrade and various upgrades to the southern access of Cairns.
The 15-year Vision and Action Plans also builds on more than $6 billion in existing future investments that will be outlined in the upcoming QTRIP 2024-25 to 2027-28, such as:
- $948 million Gateway Motorway to Dohles Rocks Road upgrade (Stage 1)
- $290 million Dohles Rocks Road to Anzac Avenue upgrade (Stage 1)
- $733 million Anzac Avenue to Uhlmann Road upgrade, funding commitment
- $1.73 billion Rockhampton Ring Road
- $96.9 million Burdekin River Bridge, rehabilitation program
- $225 million Cairns Southern Access Corridor (Stage 5), Foster Road, funding commitment
As stated by the Transport and Main Roads Minister Bart Mellish:
"The Miles Government backs our Bruce Highway.
"With record investments over the past nine years, a renewed annual funding commitment and some fantastic new projects and initiatives, Queenslanders know that a Labor Government will deliver, just like we are delivering the Rocky Ring Road.
"Projects that support the Bruce and that help to ease congestion on our main highway are also an important part of our Bruce plan, like the $1 billion Inland Freight Route (or 'Second Bruce') and our investment in the Queensland Beef Corridors.
"Safety is always our most important priority and I'm pleased to be working with key transport advocates to improve safety on the Bruce.
"The release of the 15-year Vision and Action Plans for the Bruce Highway and the Safer Bruce 2030 Action Plan marks a key milestone for the Bruce Highway.
"We now have a plan for the future of the Bruce Highway which extends beyond the Bruce Highway Upgrade Program commitments."
As stated by Peter Garske, Bruce Highway Trust Advisory Council Chair:
"As the former Chair of the Bruce Highway Trust Advisory Council, members worked hard to oversee the delivery of these two important outputs and ensuring their recommendations aligned with the three key objectives to unlock economic growth, build flood resilience and improve safety.
"Through the Council's work, it was clear how important the Bruce Highway is to Queenslanders across the State. The Vision and Action Plans deliver on the need for a long-term investment plan for the Bruce Highway.
"Working with key stakeholders and hearing from the many customer groups, the Council provided advice to TMR through their technical working group. The Council listened and considered the many ways customers use the Bruce now, and into their future and ensured this was reflected in the Vision and Action Plans supporting the future of the Bruce Highway."
