First part of $2.6bn federal spend to be invested immediately in upgrading the Bruce Highway in Queensland
March 16, 2010
The first instalment of the $2.6 billion federal package to upgrade Queensland’s Bruce Highway has been approved with works to begin immediately.
Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Anthony Albanese has announced $24 million for the highway as part of a $250 million safety package.
“The first round of funding will fix 35 black spots, with projects varying from intersection upgrades to new signs and line-markings, to the clearing of roadside hazards,” Albanese says.
“The safety package is just one part of the $2.6 billion the Rudd Labor Government is investing in the Bruce Highway, one of the longest and most important sections of the national road network used by up to 170,000 vehicles a day.”
The projects were chosen following a detailed assessment of where accidents have regularly occurred over the last five years.
The funding forms part of major upgrades on the Bruce, including duplicating the section between Cooroy and Curra and constructing the new Townsville Port Access Road.
The south approaches to the northern Queensland region of Mackay will also be upgraded.
Albanese says more funding allocations from the safety package will be announced later this year.