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Push for a new rest area in Mackay

Push for a new rest area in Mackay

The proposed recreation area is ideally located, with access to key freight routes. Photo: RAAG

The growing number of trucks in Mackay and the insufficient number of adequate rest areas for truck drivers in the region are increasing road dangers, according to the Queensland Road Safety Group.

The Road Accident Action Group (RAAG) is pushing for a new multi-use rest area to be built on the outskirts of Paget, on vacant land opposite the existing BP truck stop. RAAG said there are currently no designated HGV parking spaces in Mackay and BP Paget is literally overflowing with trucks, leaving drivers with no option but to park in surrounding streets.

“There are heavy vehicles on the roads everywhere in the Paget Industrial Area,” said RAAG’s Carol Single, who has been raising concerns about the lack of parking for heavy vehicles in the Mackay area for two decades. Recently, he claims the group was advised that police would have to wake up drivers and ask them to move their heavy vehicles so that a wide load could pass.

“Every few days the Bruce Highway between Rockhampton and Townsville is closed due to an accident. It’s a constant spiral. Heavy vehicle drivers simply have nowhere to stop and rest; and there is nowhere in Mackay for recreational vehicles and caravans to park as all the caravan parks are full.”

The nearest HGV stop in the area that meets Austroads requirements is at Waverley Creek, 100 miles south of Mackay. RAAG worked with other interested parties for 13 years to finally see this rest area built in 2013.

However, Single said that given the number of fatigue-related accidents on the Rockhampton route and north to Townsville, a new rest area at Paget was urgently needed.

BP Paget is overcrowded with trucks and there are no rest areas nearby. Photo: RAAG

RAAG is now calling on Mackay Regional Council, State and Federal Governments to support their proposal to transform a vacant site in Paget into a multi-use recreation area with at least 100 parking spaces for trucks, caravans and other road users.

In addition to parking, RAAG proposes that the facility include a driver change station for truck drivers, as well as facilities for drivers of caravans and light vehicles. “Currently, B-double units need to be split up to inspect in Mackay and we understand that NHVR is looking at a new inspection station in the Mackay area,” Single added.

The suggested rest area location is on Industroplex Drive in Paget.

“The beauty of this location, apart from being opposite BP, is that it’s on a roundabout, so it’s in a great location for anyone coming from the north or south on the Bruce Highway. It also links to the Mackay Bypass and Walkerston Bypass, which will open later this year, and the Peak Downs Highway, which will become a double B route to Mackay from the west.

Single said with the completion of the new Eton Range Road, higher capacity vehicles arriving from the west must disconnect near Paget as the nearest breakdown point is more than 40 kilometers west at Hazledean.

Paget is the center of mining activity in Queensland and Mackay has heavy heavy vehicle traffic. Single said more wide loads were carried in the Mackay and Central Queensland areas than anywhere else in Australia.

Accidents are currently occurring at an alarming rate on the Bruce and Peak Downs Highways.

Drivers using the Bruce Highway are five times more likely to be injured or killed in a crash than drivers on the main roads connecting Sydney and Melbourne, according to RACQ data.

Head-on collisions currently account for around 50 per cent of accidents on the Bruce Highway.

“This is a critical project for the well-being of all travelers coming to Mackay – from heavy-duty vehicles, to caravan and motorhome drivers, to car drivers who need a place to stop and rest. “I don’t think there’s anything more important right now than building a proper rest area to help reduce the carnage.”

RAAG’s proposal for a new rest area at Paget has received overwhelming support, with the Australian Transport Association (ATA), Queensland Trucking Association (QTA), NatRoad, RACQ, Queensland Police, State and Federal Ministers and Mackay Regional Council all supporting the plan.

The group will continue to push for the construction of a new parking space by seeking funding from the government’s Heavy Vehicle Parking Initiative, which has allocated $140 million to build heavy vehicle parking spaces over the next 10 years.

“We have a lot of support,” Single said. “Now we are really trying to achieve this and bring everyone together to address the urgent need for a rest area in Paget as quickly as possible.”