OUR REGION DESERVES A SAFER BRUCE HIGHWAY
Too many phone calls are being made to share the news loved ones are not coming home and the number of fatalities on the Bruce highway is sadly growing. In 2024, 41 lives were lost on the Bruce Highway, many of which were in Dawson. I am very concerned with the current trends as it looks like that number might be even higher in 2025.
I am devastated every time I hear of the latest fatal road incident and I’m determined to do all I can to lower those statistics. I strongly believe that fixing the substandard and dangerous Bruce Highway is vital to driving these numbers down.
Every time I hear of another life lost on the Bruce, I am both sad and angry. Sad for the victims and their family. Angry because more should be getting done to improve the safety of the Bruce Highway.
Sadly, just last weekend a man lost his life in a two vehicle collision at Alligator Creek, south of Townsville, and another road accident a couple of weeks earlier on the southside of Bowen also resulted in a fatality. In June last year, a head on collision between a Greyhound bus and 4wd at Gumlu, north of Bowen resulted in three fatalities and multiple life-threatening injuries. For the survivors and the loved ones left behind, life will be forever changed.
My message is clear - Fix the Bruce Highway so the impossible task of grieving road victims is far rarer.
For three years the Federal Labor government has been asleep at the wheel and their inaction on the Bruce Highway means the death toll only grows. Labor’s neglect for north Queensland’s most important road makes the drive through Dawson less safe.
I want to see the Bruce Highway have more overtaking lanes and more sections widened, as well as comprehensive resurfacing, rather than patch jobs.
Driving between Mackay and Townsville, motorists are often faced with the split second decision whether to swerve a pothole, potentially putting them on the path of oncoming traffic or ride over it hoping their car is not left with thousands of dollars of damage.
Every bump, hole and blindspot is a danger, putting every road user at risk of not coming home.
To join me in ‘Backing Our Bruce” sign my petition to get the wheels in motion. www.andrewwillcox.com.au/back-our-bruce