Published Thursday, 28 February, 2008 at 03:49 PM
Minister for Main Roads and Local Government
The Honourable Warren Pitt
Cooroy-Gympie section of highway to be raised in talks with Federal Minister
The Cooroy-Gympie stretch of highway will be high on the list of issues for discussion when Main Roads Minister Warren Pitt meets his Federal counterpart Anthony Albanese in Canberra tomorrow.
Mr Pitt said today he would raise the issue of funding for upgrading the 40km section of the Bruce Highway in talks with the Federal Minister for Transport and Infrastructure.
“I will be highlighting to Mr Albanese that Queensland attaches a very high priority to this particular road project,” Mr Pitt said.
“I want to make sure that every effort is made to get this planned project up and running, and to avoid any delays.”
Mr Pitt said funding for the Bruce Highway was a Federal Government responsibility, with funding allocations discussed and negotiated with the State Government.
“The Cooroy-Gympie section of highway has the worst record for fatalities of any stretch of road in Queensland, and is among the worst in Australia,” he said.
“There have been 34 fatal road crashes involving 45 deaths since 2000. That is a shocking state of affairs.
“Over recent years – especially the last 10 years - the amount of traffic using this stretch of road has grown rapidly, to the extent that it is contributing to the crash rate.
“The volume of traffic means that there is a greater likelihood of head-on and rear-end crashes occurring.
“The Federal Government has committed an initial $200 million towards upgrading the Cooroy–Curra section of the Bruce Highway. Its overall cost is a lot more – at least $2 billion in today’s terms – but the most important thing is to get it started.
“Queensland is preparing a project proposal report and funding application for pre-construction activities, for submission to the Federal Government next month, and officers at a federal and state level have been working cooperatively on this project.
“Nevertheless, I want to emphasise to Mr Albanese the need to do the planning and design work as soon as possible so that we can move to the construction phase without any undue delay,” Mr Pitt said.
Media contact: Minister Pitt’s Office 3227 8819
Mr Pitt said today he would raise the issue of funding for upgrading the 40km section of the Bruce Highway in talks with the Federal Minister for Transport and Infrastructure.
“I will be highlighting to Mr Albanese that Queensland attaches a very high priority to this particular road project,” Mr Pitt said.
“I want to make sure that every effort is made to get this planned project up and running, and to avoid any delays.”
Mr Pitt said funding for the Bruce Highway was a Federal Government responsibility, with funding allocations discussed and negotiated with the State Government.
“The Cooroy-Gympie section of highway has the worst record for fatalities of any stretch of road in Queensland, and is among the worst in Australia,” he said.
“There have been 34 fatal road crashes involving 45 deaths since 2000. That is a shocking state of affairs.
“Over recent years – especially the last 10 years - the amount of traffic using this stretch of road has grown rapidly, to the extent that it is contributing to the crash rate.
“The volume of traffic means that there is a greater likelihood of head-on and rear-end crashes occurring.
“The Federal Government has committed an initial $200 million towards upgrading the Cooroy–Curra section of the Bruce Highway. Its overall cost is a lot more – at least $2 billion in today’s terms – but the most important thing is to get it started.
“Queensland is preparing a project proposal report and funding application for pre-construction activities, for submission to the Federal Government next month, and officers at a federal and state level have been working cooperatively on this project.
“Nevertheless, I want to emphasise to Mr Albanese the need to do the planning and design work as soon as possible so that we can move to the construction phase without any undue delay,” Mr Pitt said.
Media contact: Minister Pitt’s Office 3227 8819