June 21, 2017
South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell joined a delegation led by Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien in Canberra on Wednesday to press for upgrades to the Bruce Highway.
Also present were Gympie Mayor Mick Curran, North Burnett Mayor Rachel Chambers, Fraser Coast Mayor Chris Loft, Bundaberg Mayor Jack Dempsey and Bill Trevor and Scott Rowe from Regional Development Australia Wide Bay Burnett.
The group met with Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Darren Chester.
“Together we impressed upon him how important the Section D Cooroy to Curra Bruce Highway project is for the Wide Bay-Burnett region, our State, and our nation,” Mr O’Brien said.
“The Bruce Highway connects 58 per cent of the State’s population, running up the coast from Brisbane to Cairns.
“It carries major freight movements between inland production areas and 11 coastal ports and regional centres.
“It must be a long-term vision of the Liberal-National Party to make this piece of infrastructure fit for the 21st century by planning a world-class, four-lane high speed highway connecting Brisbane to Cairns and all communities in between.”
Mr O’Brien said the Rudd Labor Federal Government jeopardised the whole Cooroy to Curra project when they junked the Coalition’s 2007 election commitment to complete the whole project by 2020.
“Since returning to office the Coalition has got the Cooroy to Curra project back on track. But even so, without Section D, the job is only half done,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Section B, which goes around the non-existent Traveston Crossing dam was constructed before the Coalition’s return to office.
“Section A from Cooroy to Sankeys Road, was constructed by the Coalition, and opened last month, providing a new 13.5km 4-lane divided highway from Cooroy to outside Pomona.
“Section C of the Bruce Highway between Traveston and Woondum is well ahead of schedule.
“We now need a commitment from State and Federal Governments to fund the biggest project, Section D, a 26km highway section from Woondum to Curra that skirts around Gympie.
“Where I come from, you don’t do half a job. That’s why we need to secure funding to construct this nation-building project as soon as possible.
“Over 150km of the Bruce passes through my electorate of Wide Bay. It provides critical linkages for freight transport between inland primary production areas of North and South Burnett and major regional centres of Gympie, Maryborough and Bundaberg.
“South-east Queensland is expected to grow massively in the coming decades. The number of vehicles using the Bruce is growing by 2.8 per cent each year, with freight volumes set to double by 2026.
“The Bruce Highway is the main access to the region from the north and south.
“Each year it contributes $11.5 billion to Queensland’s economy and supports over 60,000 jobs. This will grow in the years to come with the emerging Port of Bundaberg.
“In order to export produce from south-east Queensland, industry needs to transport their goods as quickly and efficiently as possible. This requires separating long distance freight from local traffic movements.
“By funding Section D, the missing link, we will transform this part of the Bruce into the high-speed, high-volume corridor it is intended to be.
“Section D will benefit Wide Bay’s tourism and agricultural industries by improving access to the Cooloola Coast.
“The flow-on effects of reducing highway bottlenecks are huge, benefiting both supply chains and labour mobility. Section D will provide jobs for the Wide Bay region in the construction phase, and boost south-east Queensland’s productivity once completed.”
South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell said industry needed to be able to transport goods as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“Upgrading this section of the highway into a high-speed, high-volume corridor can only benefit the region’s tourism and agricultural industries,” he said.
Mayor Campbell said an upgrade to the Bruce Highway could to the Port of Bundaberg being a preferred destination for export produce from northern producers within the South Burnett.
Mr O’Brien said in 2014 the Bruce Highway was named and shamed as one of the world’s top 25 dangerous roads, on a list that included Bolivia’s ‘Death Road’ and the infamous Trans-Siberian Highway.
“Since 2011, there have been nine fatalities and over 50 injuries around Section D, with the Gympie section having the highest crash rate; 13,800 vehicles travel on this Highway through Gympie each day, with 173 casualty crashes and 25 deaths between 2003 and 2007,” he said.
“Traffic accidents are a burden on our nation, and one death is one too many. (Traffic accidents) account for around 18 per cent of acute care bed days and 29 per cent of Intensive Care Unit admissions in Queensland hospitals.
“Statistics tell part of the story, but when you make the gut-wrenching walk to someone’s doorstep and tell them their loved one isn’t coming home you realise the full magnitude of it.
“Each year, there is an average of 50 deaths on the Bruce Highway. The RACQ estimates that without future action, there will be 350 deaths and 5000 injuries over the next decade.”
“I made the importance of funding Section D clear to Minister Chester today.
“I want to thank him for his continued interest in Wide Bay and his effort in making our roads safer. I also wish to thank the Mayors and the RDA for their continued support of Section D, as well as my state colleagues for Hervey Bay, Maryborough, Gympie, and Burnett.”
