I have approved $2 million in new Federal funding to make further safety improvements along the Bruce Highway near Home Hill, with work on installing two additional overtaking lanes to begin early next year – one to the north of the town and another to the south.
The need for these new lanes was identified in the 2002 Burdekin Road Safety Audit.
Once completed in late 2013, they will give motorists extra opportunities to pass slower moving vehicles safely, particularly the hundreds of trucks that use this stretch of highway every day.
All up, Federal Labor will have installed around 60 additional overtaking lanes along the entire length of the Bruce Highway by the end of our current six-year Nation Building Program in mid-2014.
Other projects flowing from the Burdekin Road Safety Audit include:

• Construction of extra left and right turning lanes at a number of intersections along Edwards Street in Ayr, as well as widening the turning area at the Heavy Vehicle Bypass and widening the Highway’s shoulders (underway).


• In Brandon, a new pedestrian island has been constructed opposite the Post Office, and new kerbing and line marking works have also been completed near Spiller Street (completed).

(See attached map.)
The Burdekin Road Safety Audit is a jointly funded initiative, with the Federal Government providing $16.8 million and the Queensland Government the remaining $8.2 million.