The Palaszczuk Government’s commitment to establish the Bruce Highway Trust, which will oversee up to $1 billion per year of upgrades on Queensland’s most critical road if re-elected, will deliver long-term benefits to the state’s economy, tourism sector and the millions of commuters who travel the Bruce Highway each year, the Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF) said.

TTF Chief Executive Margy Osmond said Labor’s Future-proofing the Bruce plan will deliver badly needed investment into improving safety and reducing congestion along the highway, and will fast-track key projects such as the upgrade of the Townsville Ring Road to a dual-carriageway between Douglas and Bohle Plains.

“The Bruce Highway is the economic lifeblood of many communities across Queensland and also serves as the gateway to a significant number of the state’s tourism hot-spots,” Ms Osmond said.

“As Queensland’s regional economy and population continues to grow along the state’s most important freight and tourism route, the case for investing in the future of the Bruce Highway is crystal clear.

“The creation of a Bruce Highway Trust to identify priority projects is also a very welcome step towards ensuring Queenslanders will get the best bang for their buck from this significant investment.”

Today’s commitment includes an initial $175 million to establish the Trust and a further annual contribution of $200 million from the Queensland Government.

Ms Osmond congratulated the Palaszczuk Government on recognising the importance of supporting the state’s visitor economy through targeted transport investment.

“It is very heartening to see tourism and transport no longer being looked at in isolation, but as two sides of the same coin,” Ms Osmond said.