The Bruce Highway between Mackay and Sarina is set to become even safer following my approval of Federal funding to upgrade the Hay Point Road intersection, the scene of more than 50 crashes over the past decade.
This move will no doubt be welcomed by all regular users of the Highway, particularly the 12,000 motorists and truck drivers that pass through this intersection every day.
Specifically, the $15 million project will replace the existing T-intersection and temporary traffic lights with a roundabout, with work on it expect to begin in mid-2013 and be completed by mid-2014.
Funding for this upgrade is coming from the Federal Labor Government’s Bruce Highway Safety Package, the first ever program dedicated to eliminating notorious black spots, installing new rest stops and building additional overtaking lanes.  Already this initiative:

• Installing 50 new overtaking lanes;


• Fixing over 100 dangerous black spots between Caboolture and Cairns;


• Building some 24 new rest areas and stopping places as well as upgrading a significant number of existing rest areas.

All up, we’re investing an unprecedented $2.8 billion over six years (2008-09 to 2013-14) to build a better, safer Bruce Highway for the up to 170,000 vehicles which use it daily.  That’s more than twice what the former Howard Government spent on this road in half the time.
_________________________
Click on image for larger version

Bruce Highway—Sarina to Cairns—Black Spots—Hay Point Road Intersection Upgrade