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Bruce Highway (National Highway 1) (Decommissioned) - Townsville to Cairns

Statistics:

• Length: 1679 km (Townsville to Cairns: 347 km)
• Northern Terminus: Captain Cook Hwy (NR1), Florence St and Sheridan St, Cairns
• Southern Terminus: Gateway Motorway (Metroad 1) and Gympie Arterial Rd (Metroad 3) at Bald Hills
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along Route: Townsville, Ingham, Cardwell, Tully, Innisfail, Babinda, Gordonvale and Cairns

Route Numbering:

• Current: A1

• Former:
• Road Authority Internal Classification: 10M (Townsville to Ingham), 10N (Ingham to Innisfail), 10P (Innisfail to Portsmith) and 809 (Portsmith to Cairns CBD) 1

General Information:

The Highway 1 corridor is the main coastal route from the NSW border to the northern tip of the east coast of Australia, and links major cities and towns with Brisbane, and beyond the NSW border, Sydney.

Bruce Highway is named after former Minister of Public Works, Henry Bruce and connects Brisbane with all coastal regions north of the city.

The route is freeway standard from the Gateway Motorway interchange to Curra, north of Cooroy. From there, the route alternates between single and dual carriageway, and passes through rural, residential, industrial and commercial areas.

History:

• October 1934: Bruce Highway named after Minister for Works. 3
• November 1934: Bruce Highway declared. 4
• December 1961: Gordonvale Deviation / Mulgrave River bridge opened. 5
• July 1967: Work commenced on a new route across Bellenden Plains / Murray River (near Cardwell). 5
• 28 September 1968: Herbert River bridge at Ingham opened. 5
• December 1968: Completion of new route across Bellenden Plains / Murray River (near Cardwell). 5
• 1974: National Route 1 replaced by National Highway as part of the Federal National Highway funding program.
• 5 November 1984: Rollingstone Creek Bridge opened by Russ Hinze. 5
• 1991: First stage of Babinda Deviation was completed and removed the last one-lane bridge on the highway. 5
• March 2008: Work began on the Woodlands to Veales upgrade near Townsville, and included the upgrade of the junction of Bruce Hwy and Veales Rd to a seagull intersection, a new Stoney Creek bridge and the construction of an overpass at Mount Low. 6
• December 2008: Completion of a 15.5 kilometre federally-funded upgrade of the Bruce Highway south of Tully, which included 3 new bridges over Tully River, Tully River Overflow and Murray River. 7
• January 2009: Completion of seagull junction treatment at the Bruce Hwy / Veales Rd intersection near Townsville. 6
• November 2009: Bridges in the Tully area named: Joe Kinjun /K injufile Bridge, for the new bridge over the Tully River on the Bruce Highway, Euramo Bridge, for the new bridge over the Tully River overflow on the Bruce Highway and Henry Family Bridge, for the new bridge over the Murray River on the Bruce Highway. 7
• October 2011: Conversion from NH1 to A1 mostly complete between Rockhampton and Cairns.

Townsville to Cairns			Cairns to Townsville
Preview:	Description:		Preview:	Description:
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign on Bruce Hwy (NH1) approaching Ross River Rd (SR72), August 2011. Image © Terry Siva			Palmerston Highway: ID sign assembly at the Palmerston Hwy (SR25) intersection at O'Briens Hill, May 2005. Image © Rob Tilley
	Reassurance Directional Sign: Distance sign at Tully, April 2005. Image © Rob Tilley			Advance Directional Sign: AD sign at Tully approaching Butler St, April 2005. Image © Rob Tilley
	Reassurance Directional Sign: Distance sign at O'Briens Hill, April 2005. Image © Rob Tilley
	Advance Directional Sign: AD sign approaching Munro St, Babinda, April 2005. Image © Rob Tilley
Click here for the continuation of the route as National Route 1 Click here for National Highway 1 between Gladstone and Mackay

1 Department of Transport and Main Roads, The State Road Network of Queensland, 30 June 2010
2 Nambour Chronicle, 4 October 1929
3 Nambour Chronicle, 26 October 1934
4 Nambour Chronicle, 23 November 1934
5 Tyler Bullock
6 Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory, Media Statements, Veales Road Intersection Safety Improvements
7 Queensland Cabinet and Ministeral Directory, Media Statements, New bridge names honour Tully region, 17 November 2009

Last updated: 27-Jan-2020 12:1225-Oct-2021 0:13

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