New data exposes dangerous condition of Bruce Highway

One of the longest highways in Australia, and it’s riddled with accidents. Just this morning, a car towing a caravan flips at Beer Burrum. No one seriously injured, but that’s often not the case. 149 people lost their lives on the Bruce Hwy. between 2018 and twenty. 2254% of those were head on crashes and almost 80% occurred at speed zones over 100 kilometres per hour. There’s 1000 kilometres of the Bruce Hwy. which is just single lane. It’s been described as a goat track in sections and that is putting Queenslanders at risk. The Bruce stretches from Brisbane to Cairns and the Australian Rd. Assessment Program rates 90% of it at two or three stars out of five. Fixing all of the bruises, safety and congestion issues might seem like a mountain of work. With hundreds of thousands of vehicles using the highway everyday, it’s worth the time and effort. We have over $13 billion / 10 years jointly funded with the federal government on Bruce Hwy. projects. The RACQ believes the shift from an 8020 federal and state funding split to 5050 has slammed the brakes on future works. What that is is a massive reduction in funding in future funding for the Breeze Highway. I know about the Bruce Hwy. and so does Catherine King. And so does the Premier of Queensland, and we’re getting on with it. The Australian Automobile Association says critical Rd. safety data, such as the possible cause of crashes and road conditions, needs to be made public. State governments know where the dangerous roads are and where the money needs to be spent, but voters and taxpayers do not. And with infrastructure costs continuing to be driven up, maybe it’s time they shared. Cam Inglis, 9 News.