Queensland’s ‘most despised’ road is anything but a surprise

The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) has released its biannual Unroadworthy Roads Survey, calling the ‘winner’ the state’s most despised road.

Based on submissions from motorists who use Queensland roads, the RACQ found the circa-1700km Bruce Highway was the most complained about road, receiving 167 scathing pieces of feedback from road users.

Starting at Bald Hills in Brisbane’s north, the Bruce Highway stretches all the way to Cairns, and consists of sections with as few as one lane in each direction, or up to four lanes when leaving the state’s capital.

In summary, motorists said its surface was rough, narrow, lacking in overtaking opportunities, and can be susceptible to flooding, with particular areas in Wide Bay, Central and North Queensland drawing the most ire.

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RACQ head of public policy Dr Michael Kane said the results backed the motoring club’s Fix the Bruce campaign, which has received the support of the Queensland Opposition leading up to this year’s election.

“The stretch between Childers and Gin Gin is the most dangerous, where you are almost 10 times more likely to be involved in a fatal or serious injury crash than on the Hume Highway in NSW,” Dr Kane said.

“The Bruce is the backbone of our State, but it’s broken. So far this year, 30 people have lost their lives in crashes on the Bruce Highway – we’ve already surpassed the five-year average of 29 deaths and it’s only September.

“We need the State and Federal Governments to commit to a 10-year funding arrangement to upgrade all poorly rated 2-star sections of the highway.

“We’re also calling for the Federal Government to return to the pre-existing 80:20 infrastructure funding split with the State Government. This is a national road, and the Federal Government must do the heavy lifting to bring it up to standard with other national highways.”

Second to the Bruce Highway was the Kennedy Highway, which ranked only 11th in the last Unroadworthy Roads Survey in 2022.

Despite running for about 35km, Mount Mee Road to the north of Brisbane received 52 complaints, equivalent to more than 1.6 every kilometre.

A popular road with motorcyclists, it’s been criticised for being left in a state of disrepair with large potholes throughout fast corners, a large number of blind corners, and a lack of overtaking opportunities.

You can read more about the RACQ’s findings here.