THE Bruce Highway between Innisfail and Cairns is among the state's most dangerous roads and will continue to pose a serious crash risk to drivers unless urgent repairs are made.

A new report from RACQ’s Australian Road Assessment Program has renewed the push to upgrade the 90km section after the number of casualty crashes in the reporting periods rose from 85 (1999-2003) to 129 (2003-2007).

Local drivers said they were not surprised the Cairns to Innisfail stretch – used by school buses, trucks and thousands of passenger vehicles each day – was flagged as one of the state’s three most dangerous routes.

JP Express truck drivers make the trip to Innisfail from Cairns daily to deliver produce to local supermarkets and manager Twyn Wagner describes the highway as “a disaster”.

"We rely on those roads – it seems to be patchwork all the time and nothing of any structure," Mr Wagner said.

"The worst part is that we hear every year, especially when there is an election around, that it is all getting fixed.

"But I have been here for 22 years and nothing has. It’s all patchwork."

JP Express driver Kevin Massey agreed.

"I can tell you right now, I’m bouncing around the truck like a blowfly,’’ he said yesterday after driving to Innisfail. "It’s just patches and patches of potholes."

The potholes also concern Babinda mother-of-one Emma Anderson, who drives to Innisfail once a week for groceries.

"It is really bad; the potholes – you couldn’t miss them if you tried, unless you want to go to the other side of the road and dodge them," she said.

And Babinda Electrics tradesman Julian Oates said there were not enough overtaking lanes to cope with the volume and variety of traffic.

"Driving down in the morning, everyone seems to be in a hurry, and if you come up against a slow-moving truck or a caravan, you face a huge risk going into oncoming traffic to overtake them," he said.

Federal Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch, a member of the Southern Corridor Action Group, said the RACQ report was not surprising.

"It’s a shocking indictment," he said.

"It just shows again the highway needs attention.

RACQ traffic and safety executive manager John Wilkman said road improvements have not kept up with increased traffic volumes, proving the Federal Government is not dedicating enough cash to Queensland’s roads.

The risk rating of Queensland’s roads is the highest in the country, more than 20 per cent greater than the next riskiest states, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

The Cooroy to Gympie section of the Bruce Highway was declared the state’s most dangerous route, followed by the Innisfail to Cairns and Mackay to Sarina routes.

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