| Bruce Highway | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length: | 1,652 km (1,027 mi) |
| History: | Formerly |
| Allocation: | Cairns - Cooroy: Cooroy - Bald Hills: |
| Major junctions | |
| North end: | Captain Cook Highway, Cairns |
| Palmerston Highway, Flinders Highway, Peak Downs Highway, Capricorn Highway, Burnett Highway, Dawson Highway, Isis Highway, Wide Bay Highway, D'Aguilar Highway, Gympie Arterial Road | |
| South end: | Gateway Motorway, Bald Hills, Brisbane |
| Location | |
| Primary destinations: |
Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Maryborough |
| Highway system | |
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Highways in Australia |
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The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is a part of the Australian National Highway and also part of Highway 1. Its length is approximately 1700 kilometres; it is entirely sealed with bitumen.
The highway is named after the former Queensland and federal politician Henry Adam Bruce. He was the state Minister for Works when the highway was named after him, in the mid 1930s. It once passed through Brisbane, but was truncated at Bald Hills when the recently-constructed Gateway Motorway became National Highway 1 in 1994.
The Bruce Highway is the biggest traffic carrier in Queensland. The highway initially joined all the major coastal centres; however, a number of bypasses, particularly in the south, have diverted traffic around these cities in order to expedite traffic flow and ease urban congestion. As a result, the highway is constantly being shortened. The road is a dual carriageway from Brisbane to Cooroy with some dual carriageway lengths at Gympie, many of these upgrades being completed in the 1980s (Glass House Mountains, Maryborough) and 1990s (Nambour, Cooroy).
In the south the Bruce Highway commences at the bridge over the Pine River at the Gateway Motorway interchange, 21 kilometres north of Brisbane central business district. Recently, the Bruce Highway has changed its route numbering from National Highway 1 to the M1 (motorway road) or A1 (single carriageway, generally with overtaking lanes).
Several major cities along the route include Maryborough, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville, and Cairns. The highway passes the Glasshouse Mountains, rainforests and pastures in the Sunshine Coast, the Gunalda Range (north of Gympie), Mount Larcom (north of Gladstone), and the arid countryside north of Rockhampton; after that, it passes through land predominantly used for sugar cane, crop growing and dairy farms and the sub-tropics and tropics.
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Due to the nature of wet weather and tropical cyclone prone areas of North Queensland, Bruce Highway is prone to frequent flooding in a number of places. Following the catastrophic Queensland floods in 2010–2011 the Australian Government have commissioned a feasibility study on flood-proofing the Bruce Highway. The feasibility study is to be completed by the middle of 2011.[1]
Bruce Highway is set to undergo redevelopment, realignment, flood-proofing and extension of dual carriageway sections on numerous stretches of the Highway.[2] Premier Anna Bligh announced the plans while launching the Queensland Infrastructure Plan. The works are expected to total A$2 billion and include 60 projects over a period of two decades.[2]
A stretch of road between Cardwell and Tully, which is prone to frequent flooding in the wet season, is set to undergo realignment. A new route for the highway through Townsville was under construction with the first stage of the Townsville Ring Road (now called The Ring Road) already completed.
Upgrade to a stretch of the highway north of Townsville has been given approval, and will see the existing dual carriageway to the north extended by another 5–10 km. It will also include installation of traffic lights at Mt Low Parkway, and will be the final stage of the Ring Road link up to this section by 2015. The Queensland Main Roads Department's ultimate concept map of the development also shows that the highway will also progressively become Motorway standard by 2015, with the implementation of interchanges at various junctions.
The highway south of Cairns will also see sections of the highway to the suburb of Edmonton become six lanes, with progressive dual-carriageway redevelopment of the highway to Gordonvale. Labour candidate Jim Turnour has also put ahead that stage 1 of the Cairns Southern Motorway will begin with overpasses at Ray Jones Drive and Sheehy Road if elected.
To improve flood immunity of the highway south of Childers, a higher bridge over the Isis River and a new and improved road alignment is to be completed by the end of 2011.[3]
Between Caboolture and the Gateway Motorway, the highway has been widened to eight and six lanes since 2001, the latest being the Boundary Road to Uhlmann Road section in 2007. The next section, Uhlmann Road to Bribie Island Road was completed in July 2009, and further upgrades are under review.
A new interchange is destined to be constructed at the notorious intersection of Roys Road at Beerwah. It will also connect to the nearby Bells Creek Road, another dangerous intersection. The Nambour Bypass has recently gone through a process of rehabilitation due to the extremely rough surface and dangerous pothole appearances during wet weather. This work was completed in 2008. As of 2010 part of a federally funded 61 km bypass of Gympie has commenced early works, as part of the larger Cooroy to Curra upgrade of the highway. Due to the new highway change (peaking completion in 2012), one of the schools, Federal State School, was relocated.
Travelling north, the following towns and small cities are found on (or very close to) the Bruce Highway.
| Bruce Highway Cooroy to Bald Hills | ||
| Northbound exits | Exit number (distance from QLD/NSW border) |
Southbound exits |
| End Motorway Continues as Bruce Highway to Gympie and Cairns |
231 | Cooroy, Noosa Myall Street |
| Cooroy, Noosa Myall Street |
Start Motorway Continues from Bruce Highway |
|
| no exit | 226 | Eumundi, Noosa, Kenilworth Memorial Drive, Kenilworth Road |
| Eumundi, Noosa, Kenilworth Eumundi - Noosa Road |
223 | no exit |
| Yandina, Coolum Yandina - Coolum Road |
215 | Yandina, Coolum Yandina - Coolum Road |
| Parklands Nambour Connection Road |
211 | Nambour Nambour Connection Road |
| Nambour, Bli Bli, Mapleton, Sunshine Coast Airport Nambour - Bli Bli Road |
208 | Nambour, Bli Bli, Mapleton, Sunshine Coast Airport Nambour - Bli Bli Road |
| Nambour, Woombye, Maroochydore, Big Pineapple Nambour Connection Road, Maroochydore Road |
201 | Woombye, Maroochydore, Big Pineapple Nambour Connection Road, Maroochydore Road |
| Forest Glen, Buderim, Tourist Attractions Mons Road |
199 | Forest Glen, Buderim, Tourist Attractions Mons Road |
| Sippy Downs, Mooloolaba, University of the Sunshine Coast Sunshine Motorway |
194 | Sippy Downs, Mooloolaba, University of the Sunshine Coast Sunshine Motorway |
| Palmview, Aussie World, Ettamogah Pub Glenview Road |
191 | Palmview, Aussie World, Ettamogah Pub Glenview Road |
| Caloundra, Landsborough Caloundra Road, Steve Irwin Way |
188 | Caloundra, Landsborough, Glass House Mountains Caloundra Road, Steve Irwin Way |
| Mobil Service Centre, Wild Horse Mountain Lookout Johnston Road |
171 | Mobil Service Centre, Wild Horse Mountain Lookout Johnston Road |
| Beerburrum, Glass House Mountains Steve Irwin Way |
163 | Beerburrum, Glass House Mountains Steve Irwin Way |
| Elimbah, Toorbul, Donnybrook Pumicestone Road |
157 | Elimbah, Toorbul, Donnybrook Pumicestone Road |
| Kilcoy D'Aguilar Highway |
152 | Kilcoy D'Aguilar Highway |
| Bribie Island Bribe Island Road |
Caboolture, Bribie Island Bribie Island Road |
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| Caboolture Lower King Street |
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| Morayfield Buchanan Road |
150 | Morayfield Buchanan Road |
| Caboolture BP Travel Centre | Caboolture BP Travel Centre | |
| Burpengary Uhlmann Road |
146 | Burpengary Uhlmann Road |
| Burpengary, Narangba, Deception Bay Deception Bay Road, New Settlement Road |
142 | Burpengary, Narangba, Deception Bay Deception Bay Road, New Settlement Road |
| Dakabin, Deception Bay, Alma Park Zoo Boundary Road |
138 | Dakabin, Deception Bay, Alma Park Zoo Boundary Road |
| North Lakes, Redcliffe Anzac Avenue |
133 | Kallangur, North Lakes, Redcliffe Anzac Avenue |
| Kallangur Anzac Avenue |
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| Murrumba Downs Dohles Rocks Road |
130 | no exit |
| Start Bruce Highway End Start |
127 | Logan, Gold Coast, Brisbane Airport Gateway Motorway |
| continues from Gympie Arterial Road and Gateway Motorway |
End Bruce Highway continues on as Gympie Arterial Road to Brisbane |
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Note: Exit number are based on approximate distance to QLD/NSW border
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