Underinvestment exacerbates Bruce Highway congestion
Published 27 September 2024
Mayor Peter Flannery today declared the Bruce Highway a national nightmare that Australia can’t escape.
“It’s time for the State and Federal Governments to wake up, ditch the talk and actually do something before we end up in a worse situation,” Mayor Flannery said.
“I know I speak for the Moreton Bay community when I say we’re sick of the bickering and decisions being made at the mercy of the political cycle and instead want a vision to fix the mess we are in.
“City of Moreton Bay is united in the chorus of fellow Councils calling for an urgent fix to one of the country’s most dangerous roads, but today we also call out the rampant congestion that is negatively impacting South East Queensland’s economy and the daily lives of our hardworking locals.
“We have provided solution after solution to alleviate this pressure, that will continue to grow exponentially as our population bursts at the seams, but the State are sitting on their hands.
“City of Moreton Bay is still playing ‘catch up’ to support previous growth and yet we’re told to house more people without the associated infrastructure. This has considerable repercussions for our residents and the future of South East Queensland.
“We need more connections and better roads in Moreton Bay; congestion busting projects.
“City of Moreton Bay is the lowest funded SEQ Council in terms of local road networks, and major projects are missing in action.
“Queensland Major Contractors Association 2022 Major Projects Pipeline Report data shows planned major public sector infrastructure investment in our area from 2021 to 2033 is a paltry $2.7 billion, with this funding solely related to three Bruce Highway upgrades, and lags behind comparable areas despite a larger and faster-growing population.
“By comparison, similar regions like Ipswich and Logan-Beaudesert are projected to each receive investment of $6 billion, and the Gold Coast is set to benefit from a staggering $8.3 billion in investment.
“With 14 State and Federal politicians based in City of Moreton Bay regularly travelling into Brisbane, you can’t tell me people who can make a difference haven't witnessed first-hand the dire situation we are in.
“City of Moreton Bay suffers from the “Bruce effect”. Any investment currently on the table linked to major infrastructure is tied to this national road that just cuts the City in half.
“We are calling for investment to be linked to important congestion busting projects that are ready to be delivered, and can alleviate local traffic and commuter chaos now.
“Investment in the national Bruce Highway is not for the exclusive benefit of Moreton Bay residents, so it is disingenuous of other levels of Government to include this in any tally of infrastructure funding for City of Moreton Bay, especially while our local road networks suffer.
“When it comes to major infrastructure specifically, City of Moreton Bay is projected to receive one of the smallest public investments per capita.
“The Bruce Highway poses a challenge for east-west mobility, cutting us in half, and repeated requests for funding to support traffic movements across City of Moreton Bay have been given little support.
“There’s more to Moreton Bay than the Bruce Highway. We need urgent solutions to deal with the already crippling congestion across our city.
“We need a firm commitment to not only construct a Bruce Highway Western Alternative, but to also deliver critical east-west connections, such as the Buchanan Road Overpass and corridor, and remove open level crossings, to accommodate the future growth of our city,” Mayor Flannery said.
The 2023 Congestion Survey conducted by the Royal Automotive Club of Queensland (RACQ) stated the Bruce Highway running through City of Moreton Bay was the second most congested road in Queensland.
RACQ Head of Public Policy Dr Michael Kane said better transport planning was a key priority for the club and our members, with congestion crippling South East Queensland (SEQ).
“SEQ has been plagued by a historic lack of long-term transport planning and we’re now paying the price for that as our population continues to surge.
“Congestion has been building right across the region, including in City of Moreton Bay. For example, average travel speeds during the morning peak on the Bruce Highway between Murrumba Downs and Pine Rivers Bridge have slowed by nearly 12km/h between 2019 and 2023.
“The next Queensland Government needs to release a long-term, comprehensive, and strategic transport network plan outlining road and public transport solutions for north Brisbane and City of Moreton Bay.
“This long-term plan must demonstrate how the road and public transport networks will integrate to cater for our growing population.”
ABS Data from 2021 also shows that more than 50% of City of Moreton Bay residents who work in Brisbane, travel to work by car.
“It’s no wonder that the Bruce Highway is a back-to-back carpark as our residents make the daily trek in to work in the Brisbane CBD, and that’s without our growth front areas coming online,” Mayor Flannery said.
“This data also unfortunately does not include our residents who need to travel short distances on and off the highway just to get around their own City, which is further exacerbating congestion.
“Already Brisbane and surrounds has the unenviable reputation as the most traffic-congested city in Australia, ahead of both Sydney and Melbourne, based on the INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard, so where will it end?
“With one in ten Queensland voters living here, it is time for all political parties to realise that City of Moreton Bay matters.”
City of Moreton Bay needs its fair share of funding so we can future-proof our city and ensure it's a place where our community, economy, lifestyles and environment prosper together.