It won’t come as a surprise to many grey nomads who have driven it to learn that the Bruce Highway has been named as Queensland’s most unroadworthy road.
An survey conducted by the RACQ motoring organisation prompted a huge response form concerned motorists, who highlighted problems on 556 different roads.
The Club’s Head of Public Policy, Dr Michael Kane, said respondents had called out the Bruce Highway in a big way, with their criticism stretching from south east Queensland to far north Queensland.
“Even with significant amounts of funding being directed to the Bruce Highway over many years, recent rain and flooding, combined with heavy traffic, has resulted in potholes and other surface damage, Dr Kane said.
A lot not to like ... Bruce Highway named as Queensland's most unroadworthy road. PIC: RACQ
“Respondents pointed out a range of issues with the Bruce Highway, saying some sections are too narrow, riddled with potholes, lack safe overtaking opportunities and easily flood.”
Some parts of the highway received more nominations than others, with the most maligned stretch being around Rockhampton, the stretch from Mackay to Bowen, and from Ingham to Innisfail.
“We know there’s a lot of work being done on the Bruce Highway but RACQ is calling for these upgrades to be delivered faster, especially with the recent flooding which caused significant disruptions up north just weeks ago,” Dr Kane said.
Kin Kin Road in the Sunshine Coast hinterland received the second highest number of nominations, followed by Old Maroochydore Road also on the Sunshine Coast, Mount Mee Road at D’Aguilar and the Cunningham Highway in the Darling Downs.
“All the roads in the top 10 list have many things in common: rough surfaces, poor shoulders, narrow lanes and a lack of overtaking opportunities,” Dr Kane said. “Wet weather leading to potholes and road damage are also very common.”
With traffic increasing and more frequent and extreme weather events expected in years to come, the RACQ has called for targeted investment to ensure upgrades are dedicated to safety, maintenance, resilience and strengthening of regional roads, especially
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From WA, we have towed our caravan twice in the last two years to Northern QLD and we won’t do it again. QLD roads are suspension wreckers.
Not so much the Bruce Highway – but I did do that stretch heading east from St George twice and vowed never to tow anything along that again. I would never have believed you could get bitumen corrugations before that.
The bruce highway, a national disgrace, a permanent place of employment for the worlds slowest road builders. Germany has 14000kms of good motorways. The roadbase is concrete. The roadbase used on the Bruce Highway is not & so after a few wet seasons it deteriorates. An endless cycle of roadworks from end to end & no one with the intelligence to make lasting changes. 1800 kms of a so called highway world embarrasment
Yes but what about the great south East…you would think with all the royalties the Queensland government is getting they might spend a few dollars on building a decent road…
The main roads minister, his lackies and the road building engineers in Qld seem to be a bunch of educated fools. Common sense says if the same tactics are employed the same outcome will result.
It appears that most travelled roads now have a built in maintenance program to keep their road crews in employment from time to time. How ever the supervision and allocation for repairs is ad hoc.
The problem is that States have closed their own road and maintenance departments and the work is now contracted out. Therein lies our problems. Contractors are ALWAYS reactive rather than proactive. The less work they do is more money in their pockets. They are not interested in patching up roads. They want a complete rebuild of a road as that is where the real money is for them. Sure, they do patch up work but it is not up to standard. Noone in tge givernment checks the work.
The Bruce Highway is not fit for purpose! Its purpose is a major transport route for private and commercial use with each group of users making demands for improved surfaces, increased passing lanes, flood free and town bypasses. Funding allocated barely maintains the existing road with some improvements being ever so slowly made. The question that needs to be asked is will the Bruce Highway ever be fit for purpose as a major transport route? I would suggest NO! unless a comprehensive transport plan is developed to remove traffic from the Bruce Highway by improving inland roads, duplication, electrification, raising track to above average flood levels and introduction of state of the art signalling on the North South Rail line to reduce delivery times along with improved freight handling facilities at key points and in addition the use of coastal shipping when practical. All these measures will remove traffic from the Bruce Highway. It is not a short term solution but a long term one that would be cost saving and lead to improved efficiencies and less traffic on the Bruce Highway. I write as a resident of Far North Queensland who lives with the Bruce Highway, its potholes, narrow bridges, limited passing lanes, uneven surfaces, dangerous intersections and permanently reduced speed zones due to poorly designed roads, the heavy transports rolling through the the town, the slow moving drivers oscillating between 60kmph and 80kmph in 100kmph stretches and doing a 110 when a passing lane occurs and also Great Northern Caravan Migration that considerably increases traffic and traveling times and some inconsiderate drivers who will not pull over when safe or slow down in passing lanes to let trucks and cars through. Please before you label me anti caravan I own and tow a van.
This is my world and I would like to see improvement but as I have said unless an alternative plan to just playing catch up on the Bruce Highway is developed all users of the Bruce Highway will lose.
I’ve been using the Bruce hway for many years and just came down from Cairns with a caravan. Not wanting to hold up traffic I was frustrated by the lack of passing lanes as well as the usual potholes etc. Then you come to the South East section after Gympie and its like your suddenly driving in a different country. Beautiful wide smooth bitumen. From the rough and ready to the salubrious.
Having driven the Bruce for decades I have found it has improved a lot, roads like the Surat Development Road, Moonie Hwy are goat tracks and the Warrego are much worse, of course many expect freeway conditions. Maybe if SE QLD didn’t suck all the road works money we might get something decent in regional QLD.
I first travelled the Bruce Hwy in 1974, it was a shocker then. The standing joke was that the road was our first line of defence if we were invaded from the north because an invading army would find it impassable.
First up, remove the heavey B’Dubs from our roads as they were not made for such big loads, they are the cause of poor hyways and a danger to the everyday motorists.
Because they don’t use a concrete road base like on German autobahns the gravel stuff deteriorates after a few wet seasons & so the Bruce highway remains a constant source of employment for the worlds slowest roadbuilders & constant frustration for motorists