Townsville drivers see red over congested roads

Media Release

RACQ received almost 2,000 nominations for locations where drivers experienced frustrating gridlock as part of the Club’s annual Red Spot Congestion survey.

RACQ Head of Public Policy Rebecca Michael said the Bruce Highway, Shaw Road and North Shore Boulevard intersection, Bohlevale School Road, Mount Low Parkway and Thuringowa Drive were the most troublesome locations identified by Townsville locals.

“We put the call out to drivers, who are in the best position to identify problem spots, to help us locate the roads which were constantly causing them headaches behind the wheel,” Dr Michael said.

“The Bruce Highway intersection with Shaw Road and North Shore Boulevard was in the top 30 worst areas for congestion in Queensland, with the most common complaint about a lack of lanes and difficulties turning and merging.

“Similarly, Bohlevale School Road was named on the list for not having enough lanes to cope with the heavy traffic during school pick up and drop off times.

“We welcome government funding for planning works at the Bruce Highway intersections at Shaw, but we need further commitments to fund the construction of upgrades to improve safety and reduce bottlenecks.”

Dr Michael said the survey results would be made available to all levels of government and would be used by the Club to lobby for road funding and improvements.

“It’s clear congestion is an issue that really grinds our gears and costs us time and lost productivity, especially now that we’re returning to more frequent travel following last year’s COVID-19 lockdown,” she said.

“We’ll use this information to guide our policy and to lobby all tiers of government for solutions to bottlenecked areas.”