Just days after the state budget, Bowen was the site for the first of many projects making up an historic investment into safety on the Bruce Highway.

Member for Burdekin, Dale Last MP, said it was only fitting that priority works included a notorious section of the highway just north of Bowen and that the state government was ‘getting on with delivering on our commitments’.

“For too long words are all that have been delivered when it comes to addressing safety on the Bruce Highway,” Mr Last said.  “We are serious about making the highway safer and, just 10 days after the budget, we had workers on site and targeted projects underway, including here in Bowen.”

“Bringing the Bruce Highway up to standard is no small task thanks to years of neglect, especially in regional Queensland.  Queenslanders overwhelmingly voted for a government that would get to work and that is exactly what we are doing.”

“There are 16 safety projects north of Gympie that will see shovels in the ground in the very near future, if not already.  These are projects where the design work had been completed but were left in limbo due to no funding, despite them offering major safety improvements.”

“The focus is clearly on the regional sections of the Bruce Highway because that’s the area where the most work is needed from a safety perspective.”

Mr Last said the key to achieving the best outcomes over the longer term was actively managing the project as a whole with a focus on ensuring that projects were ready to go when funding and equipment was available.

“In addition to the 16 priority construction projects, there are a further 5 projects where the design and planning phase has been prioritised,” he said.  “By doing that we ensure that, as a project is completed, construction of another project can get underway without long delays.”

“We have established a Program Management Office to ensure the project is efficient and 150 new staff have been appointed to help deliver the program.  That office and the additional staff prove that we are 100% committed to delivering a better Bruce Highway for visitors and Queenslanders alike.”

“As we move forward there will be more projects added to the program, ranging from improving intersections and widening existing lanes.  There will also be areas where more substantial works are needed to improve safety and other factors.”

“There are several sections of the Highway in the Burdekin electorate where safety can be improved quite easily but there are also sections where major works are needed, and I am confident that those areas will be included as the program continues.”

“The most common type of fatal crashes on the Bruce Highway are head-on crashes and incidents where vehicles run off the road.  Sadly, we have seen those types of incidents take lives in our area and both the Premier and the Minister for Transport know how important addressing those areas is to me and to the people using the Highway.”

“We’ve taken a new approach to improving safety on the Bruce Highway and we are committed to delivering that for all Queenslanders.”