Another Bruce Highway promise broken
23rd January, 2009
A commitment by the Federal and State Governments to spend $2.8 million on intelligent transport technology on the Bruce Highway between Cooroy and Gympie is looking like yet another broken Labor promise on the Highway, Federal Member for Wide Bay, Warren Truss, said today.Mr Truss said, “on the April 3 last year, Federal Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese, and Queensland Main Roads Minister, Warren Pitt, announced that ‘new electronic signs and cameras will be installed by Christmas’. The signs were to be part of a new ‘intelligent transport system innovation’ to improve safety on the road and ‘help provide motorists with valuable and up-to-date information’.
“The only intelligent new signs I have noticed on the Cooroy to Gympie road are the latest No Dam signs erected by the Mary Valley action groups” Mr Truss said.
“Instead the Labor Governments have gone back to the olden days with 90kmh speed limit signs between Cooroy and Bells Bridge.
"The Government said it would be spending almost $2.8 million on this new 'high-tech signage', but it simply hasn’t happened.
“If the Government would get on with the job of rebuilding and four laning the highway, it would not need to spend $2.8 million on high-tech signs to save lives,” Mr Truss said.
"What is clear is that Labor has failed to match the Liberal and National Parties $700 million commitment to start the four laning of the Bruce Highway from this year.
“A few ghee-whiz signs are no substitute for a proper commitment to build the road” he said.
