TRAFFIC on the Bruce Highway has been forced to a standstill more than 400 times in the past two years because of flooding.

Queensland’s Main Roads Opposition spokeswoman Fiona Simpson said most of these road closures were in the Far North.

The extent of the problem comes four days after Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace called for a generational commitment to fix the highway after releasing a report that showed more than $5 billion was needed to flood-proof the link.

Transport Workers’ Union area manager Tom Pfund said flooding on the highway had affected commerce and industry as well as motorists.

He said truck drivers had been forced to stop for long periods of time this wet season causing delays in delivering essential groceries and business stock to Townsville and further north.

Ms Simpson has hit out at the Federal Government for not funding flood immunity on the national road, particularly in the flood-prone north.

She described the Government’s decision to cut $300 million in Bruce Highway funding, made as part of the government’s flood recovery investment, as “hardly the smart thing to do”.

The RACQ joined the Opposition’s criticism of the Federal Government’s lack of spending on the highway after the region recorded its wettest March.

RACQ spokeswoman Lynda Schekoske said motorists were forced to pay 38c a litre in taxes every time they filled up, but that less than a third of the $13 billion raised annually went towards improving road infrastructure.

“This funding is already coming out of the pockets of motorists but it’s going to fund other government expenses like health and education,” she said.

“All motoring clubs feel very strongly that more of this money should be going to road infrastructure, including the Bruce Highway.

“What we need is some certainty from the Federal Government and a clear responsibility from them investing into these roads.”

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