Federal Government completes work on new and upgraded rest areas on the Bruce Highway in north Queensland
July 31, 2012
A new rest area and an upgraded facility have opened on a stretch of the Bruce Highway in north Queensland to combat driver fatigue.
The Federal Government has completed work on a new rest area for southbound traffic about 10km out of Howard on the way to Childers. The Nulla Flats site has tables, shelter and toilets.
Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese says the surface of the nearby northbound rest area has been sealed.
“In addition to the Nulla Flats rest areas – built and upgraded at a cost of $1.5 million – two new overtaking lanes are being installed nearby, yet another fully-federally funded project which will make this section of the highway even safer,” Albanese says.
“Last year in Queensland, 52 people died in crashes involving trucks, with fatigue a factor in many of them. We must do more to prevent these tragedies, and providing new and upgraded rest areas is one of the practical ways we are helping truck drivers fight fatigue and arrive at their destinations safely.”
Albanese says 20 new rest areas will be built and nine upgraded as part of the government’s $2.8 billion investment in the Bruce Highway. He says 5,600 cars and almost 1,500 trucks use the Howard to Childers section of the highway every day.
