Rockhampton
The Gillard Labor Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the Bruce Highway, today releasing a ten-year, $4.1 billion capital works program which will further improve safety, cut travel times, ease congestion and improve the road's flood immunity.
The package of works will also lower transport costs and boost national productivity.
We are determined to continue the work we began five years ago on building a Bruce Highway which supports Queensland's growth and development, with this latest announcement taking our total commitment to this vital economic lifeline to $5.7 billion.
Compared to the former Howard Government's record of $1.3 billion, we have committed more than four times as much over a similar period of time, and right now hundreds of workers are onsite upgrading 90 kilometres of the Highway.
Attached is a list of some of the major projects which will proceed as a result of our funding boost.
We have always said it would take time to put right more than a decade of neglect.
Accordingly, we have moved today to provide long term funding certainty for the Bruce Highway, including details of the next round of targeted improvements to be delivered in partnership with the Queensland Government on a timetable that will now be negotiated with them.
Federal Labor understands that infrastructure matters and when it comes to Queensland there is no more important piece of road infrastructure than the Bruce Highway. That's why we will continue our unprecedented investment in it.
A full list of what we have previously committed to is attached.
The Bruce Highway is Queensland's main north-south transport link extending a distance of 1,700 kilometres and connecting Brisbane to the state's major regional and coastal communities. Each day, this road is used by more than 500,000 motorists and truck drivers.