$28m Burke Developmental Road upgrade ahead of schedule

Transport operators and residents of the north-west are benefiting from safer, more efficient travel as the $28 million upgrade of the Burke Developmental Road nears completion ahead of schedule.

Main Roads Minister Warren Pitt said Main Roads had made excellent progress on upgrading this major regional road link between Cloncurry and Normanton.

"Two-thirds of this 180km section was single-lane bitumen, only 3.6m wide, but the upgrade widens it to 8m, providing two lanes with sealed shoulders,” he said.

"Main Roads has made fantastic progress on the upgrade, with 130km of road south of Burke and Wills Junction widened since construction commenced in February 2006.

"Narrow grids have also been widened or removed, and some sections have been re-aligned to improve visibility."

Member for Mount Isa Betty Kiernan said reaching Burke and Wills Junction under budget and ahead of schedule had allowed Main Roads to widen an extra section north of Burke and Wills Junction.

"Work started on the northern section in October, with the full upgrade likely to be complete in late 2007, 12 months ahead of schedule,” she said.

"This upgrade is a great example of what the Queensland Government has done to improve road safety and to connect our regional communities."

Mrs Kiernan said the Burke Developmental Road was one of many narrow sealed roads throughout outback Queensland, a legacy of the Beef Roads Scheme from the sixties and seventies.

"The Federal Government provided funding under this scheme to help the grazing industry with faster transportation of stock, replacing droving with moving cattle by road freight, but when funding ceased, Queensland was left with a difficult legacy to manage,” she said.

"The Queensland Government recognised the increasing demands on the Burke Developmental Road from the continued growth of the grazing, mining and tourism industries and sought to boost regional development through a major upgrade of this important regional road link.

"Overall, the upgrade has significantly improved safety and travelling conditions for the grazing, road freight and tourism industries, as well as residents of remote communities of Burketown and Doomadgee and the Gulf of Carpentaria.”

Media contacts: Minister Pitt’s Office 3227 8819 or 0417 789 208;
Mrs Kiernan’s Office 4742 2530