Whitsunday motorists benefit from new overtaking lanes

Whitsunday residents who are commuting to Mackay for work will welcome the news that four new overtaking lanes will be built between Proserpine and the mining city over the next two years.

Tourism Minister and Local Member Jan Jarratt joined Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace to officially turn the first sod on the $6.57m project on Friday morning.

Mr Wallace said the project was an important part of the government's plans to upgrade the highway.

"The Bruce Highway is the backbone of the Queensland roads network and supports regional economies and population growth into the future," Mr Wallace said.

"A project like this is not just a roads investment – motorists who use the highway will be able to get to work that much quicker, get to school before the bell rings and travellers will get to their holidays quicker!

"The Mackay and Whitsunday region is experiencing significant growth and it’s important our roads are upgraded to meet that growth."

Member for Whitsunday Jan Jarratt welcomed the start of construction, which is scheduled for completion in August 2012, weather permitting.

"There are more than 4000 vehicles a day using this stretch of road, and 18 per cent of these are trucks, so it’s important to provide safe overtaking lanes for motorists," Ms Jarratt said.

LNP candidate for Whitsunday Jason Costigan who has been heralding the need for overtaking lanes for some time now, said even if the two new overtaking lanes were built within the two-year promised time frame, there still wouldn't be a northbound overtaking lane anywhere between Bloomsbury and the Burdekin River.

"That's a distance of more than 200 kilometres!" Mr Costigan said.

"Is this the same Minister who recently got confused between Sandy Gully, north of Bowen, and Sandy Corner, up in the Burdekin?

"I welcome any moves to improve road safety and the state of the Bruce Highway but this is nothing more than a last-ditch attempt by Labor to hang onto the seat of Whitsunday, a seat they’ve taken for granted for almost two decades.

"Why haven’t these overtaking lanes come to fruition years ago?" he said.

"If elected, I will fight to change this by working closely with my North Queensland-based ‘Can Do’ LNP colleagues, the likes of Burdekin MP Rosemary Menkens and Hinchinbrook MP Andrew Cripps, to get our fair share of funding for the Bruce Highway in North Queensland and that includes more overtaking lanes, flood-proofing in places such as Goorganga and Lethebrook and more rest stops to combat driver fatigue."