Main freight route to Darwin damaged by heavy rains and will be closed for at least three weeks
The main freight route to Darwin has been damaged by heavy rains and will be closed for at least three weeks.
The section of road the Barkly Highway between Mount Isa and the Northern Territory has been washed out since the weekend.
Repair work will be carried out over the next few weeks but industry representatives say alternative routes are difficult to come by.
Transport Workers Union Queensland Secretary Hughie Williams says “it’s going to be a real problem”, adding that owner-drivers will be the worst affected.
“He’ll be sitting on the side of the road with nowhere to go – he’s still got a very expensive capital cost sitting in that truck, the registration and all the insurances are still costing plenty of money and you’ve got no income,” he says.