A new rest area complete with facilities will be built in North Queensland to improve road safety
July 7, 2010
A new rest area complete with facilities will be built in North Queensland to improve road safety, the Queensland Government says.
The $700,000 rest area will be built on the Gregory Developmental Road north of Charters Towers.
Queensland Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace says the area will encourage truck drivers to rest.
“We’re going to build a shelter, table, benches and water tanks, as well as a toilet block with a ramp for disabled access,” Wallace says.
“We’ve seen the road toll almost halve this year compared with last year, but every death is one too many. We need to turn these statistics around.”
The investment comes as the Government prepares to spend $2.5 million constructing a new westbound overtaking lane on the Capricorn Highway near Emerald.
Another $150,000 will be spent upgrading an intersection leading onto the Dawson Highway in the Central Highlands.
“Work on these two projects is expected to start next year and be completed by June 2012 depending on the weather,” Wallace says.
Another $500,000 million will be spent this financial year to upgrade the Kennedy Highway on the Kuranda Range, west of Cairns in Far North Queensland.
“The safety improvements will include raised reflective pavement markers, audible tactile line marking and extra guardrails at specific locations on the range,” Wallace says.
He says the Government will allocate another $1.5 million next financial year to more safety projects on the highway.