POPULAR WORDS

March 10, 2010

A motoring group has called for upgrades to Queensland highways after an inspection revealed a host of road hazards.

RACQ says its tour of the Flinders, Barkly, Landsborough and Capricorn highways shows more needs to be done to bring the routes up to standard.

RACQ’s traffic and safety engineer Greg says some sections had narrow sealed roads with poor or unsealed shoulders, steep drop-offs and narrow bridges and floodways.

The group says wider and stronger roads, more overtaking lanes, safety barriers, audio lines on the edges and centre of the roads and flood-proofing measures will help improve safety and traffic flow.

“Rough, failed road surfaces and pot holes were frequently encountered, as were roadside hazards such as trees,” Miszkowycz says.

“The lack of safe overtaking opportunities on sections of highways with high traffic volumes was another major problem.”

The RACQ also blamed trucks for a lot of the problems.

“An increasing number of heavy vehicles on the roads serving as major freight routes for agriculture, mining and livestock industries in the region contribute to potential safety and road damage issues,” Miszkowycz says.

The RACQ also claims road trains are partly responsible for the rough road surface on the Flinders Highway.

As well as a lack of funding, the RACQ says the Landsborough Highway is deteriorating due to more heavy vehicles using the route.

During the week-long inspection, the RACQ says it met road authorities and stakeholders along the way.

Miszkowycz says the tour was organised before Queensland was hit with heavy rain and floods, meaning many more sections of the highways may be a lot worse now due to the weather.

The inclement weather forced the Department of Transport and Main Roads to restrict access to certain parts of the state and enforce five-tonne load limit on trucks because of road damage concerns.