Many people have died on the Bruce Highway, which connects Brisbane to Cairns. (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)
In short:
The RACQ warns the Bruce Highway upgrades will take decades and that there is no "end point" due to population growth.
A man who lost his niece to a fatal crash on the road says he welcomes the federal government's funding announcement.
What's next?
The improvements will eventually take the highway to a minimum three-star safety rating.
Wayne Sachs has attended countless fatal crashes in 50 years as a paramedic, but one day he snapped.
In 2008, a young Bundaberg woman died on her way back to university after her car ran off the dilapidated Bruce Highway near Gympie.
"I thought I've really got to do something about it as an ambulance officer because the politicians don't seem to be listening," he said.
Armed with a compelling dossier of photos and statistics, the veteran paramedic travelled to Canberra and met then-Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese.
"He looked really rattled," Mr Sachs said.
Gympie paramedic Wayne Sachs has lobbied for decades to upgrade the Bruce Highway. (ABC News: Grace Nakamura)
Within weeks, the government announced funding to build the dual-lane Gympie bypass, which finally opened last year.
"We don't go to fatalities on the Bruce Highway through Gympie anymore," Mr Sachs said.
"We've been to the odd one but it's very, very rare."
Upgrades complex, time-consuming
Earlier today in Gympie, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reflected on the success of the Gympie bypass in reducing fatalities while announcing his government would fund $7.2 billion of a $9 billion upgrade to the state's major highway.
Labor's decision to fund 80 per cent of the Bruce Highway upgrades comes despite a push last year by federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King to force states into a 50:50 funding split.
The upgrade will bring the 1,600-kilometre highway up to a minimum three-star safety rating between Cairns and Brisbane.
Anthony Albanese made the federal government funding announcement in Gympie. (ABC News: Stephen Clarke )
However, road safety experts warn the work will be complex and take decades.
"It's been built in sections where it should never have been built, so the task is huge," RACQ head of public policy Michael Kane said.
"It is not a simple road, it's been built to a poor standard."
The highway, which is Queensland's most critical transport infrastructure, is notoriously dangerous.
There were 41 fatalities on the road last year and another two last week.
It has a serious crash rate of up to five times higher than any major highway in New South Wales or Victoria.
Labor pledges to fund bulk of Bruce Highway upgrades
Photo shows A blurred photo of trucks and a motorhome driving on the Bruce Highway
Mr Kane said upgrading a section of the highway from a two to three-star rating meant a 50 per cent reduction in fatalities.
"You put in wide centre line treatment with tactile markings, you put in a central barrier to separate the traffic, you put in overtaking lanes that are adequate, you improve the shoulders, you remove roadside hazards," he said.
"This won't take us five years or 10 years, this is going to take us a long time and we need to have constant funding and constant commitment regardless of who's in power in Canberra or Brisbane."
Mr Kane said the $7.2 billion funding would only improve the dangerous sections to an acceptable safety level and did not account for dual carriageway upgrades.
Many truck drivers use this national highway connecting Brisbane and Cairns. (ABC News: Cameron Simmons)
Increasing population growth and traffic volumes means the highway will need "constant upgrades".
"There is no end point in terms of the Bruce," Mr Kane said.
"We need governments to accept that … We just need to be constantly improving the Bruce.
"The Bruce Highway should be built to a standard where it doesn't need constant maintenance every time it rains."
Crash victim's family welcomes upgrade
Rockhampton driving instructor Leyland Barnett lost his niece on a notorious stretch of the Bruce Highway nearly five years ago.
Emily Barnett died when another car swerved into her path near Midgee, 15km south of Rockhampton.
She had just celebrated her 21st birthday.
"She passed away instantly and the passenger that was with her, her name was also Emily and every bone in her body was broken and she's got a lifetime of injuries," Mr Barnett said.
Leyland Barnett's niece died in a Bruce Highway crash in 2020. (ABC News: Vanessa Jarrett)
A touching roadside memorial on the Bruce Highway provides a reminder of Emily, who was the life of the party, according to her grieving uncle.
"She was loved by everyone," he said.
"She had her whole life in front of her and it was cut short.
"There's so many other stories of people that have died on the Bruce Highway and it hits you hard when it impacts your own family."
Police target driver behaviour
Capricornia District Highway Patrol officer Ewan Findlater said road upgrades were good but driver behaviour was the main problem.
"Unfortunately a lot of the trauma that we see on the roads still comes back to driver decision-making or a lack of decision," Senior Sergeant Findlater said.
"Overtaking is certainly something that contributes to a lot of our crashes [because] people get frustrated.
"Any general improvement that allows people to travel more freely and not make those risky decisions is certainly a positive.
"Most people I'm happy to say are doing the right thing but we're still seeing a small element of road users who are happy to push the limits."
Senior Sergeant Ewan Findlater says too many people are still driving dangerously on the road. (Supplied: Queensland Police Service)
No time to waste
The Queensland Trucking Association has urged the federal and state governments to quickly agree on what parts of the Bruce Highway will be upgraded.
The national highway that some drivers say is more like a 'goat track'
Photo shows A drone shot shows five vehicles involved in a highway crash.
Chief executive Gary Mahon said there was no time to waste because freight drivers were risking their lives daily on the run-down highway.
"We need this investment being made in a timely manner so that the people who travel that road for all sorts of reasons actually feel the difference in a timely way and are not waiting yet another eight to 10 years," he said.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli welcomed the extra funding and said it had always been the Commonwealth's responsibility.
"The Bruce Highway is a national embarrassment," he said.
"It is a death trap and this is a step towards resuming what should always be the case, and that is the federal government carrying the lion's share of the money.
"No matter who wins the next federal election, the Bruce Highway will finally be funded and that is a win for Queensland."
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