Australian Towns, Cities & Highways: Bruce Highway (Rockhampton-Cairns)

Bruce Highway (Rockhampton-Cairns) was

The Bruce Highway, Queensland's most well known highway, carries the state's highest amount of traffic and links Brisbane with all the major regional centres along the Queensland coastline. The highway, constantly under change due to the strong growth along the coast is continually being shortened due to upgrades, bypasses and duplication.
Starting at the northern outskirts of Brisbane, the Bruce Highway is at motorway standard (signposted as M1) as it heads north, bypasses Caboolture and the striking Glass House Mountains before entering the Sunshine Coast hinterland with many sections of the highway passing through lush pastures and rainforests. The highway continues north, bypassing Nambour, Yandina and Cooroy before reverting back to single carriageway (signposted as A1) as it heads inland towards the main centre of Gympie. From Gympie, the highway heads north, over the Gunalda Range, through the flat, sugar cane regions of Maryborough and Bundaberg. After traversing the hilly regions between Gin Gin and Miriam Vale, the highway enters the drier, sub-tropics where it passes to the west of the industrial city of Gladstone and the striking peak of Mt Larcom before running east of the Great Dividing Range into the beef capital, Rockhampton.
From Rockhampton, the highway continues north, passing through fairly remote, arid countryside before hugging the coastline at Clairview to reach the rich sugar cane regions of Sarina and Mackay. North of Mackay, the highway passes to west of the Whitsunday region, through the town of Proserpine before reaching the coastal port town of Bowen. The highway continues north-west through a mixture of cattle farming and sugar cane districts, again passing to the east of the Great Dividing Range to reach Ayr and eventually the city of Townsville.
From Townsville, the Bruce Highway heads north into tropical North Queensland with much of the journey north through Ingham, Tully and Innisfail at the base of the mountains with the surrounding land-use dominated with sugar cane, crop growing and dairy farms. The highway continues north from Innisfail, again passing through rich, tropical pastures to reach the major tourist centre of Cairns.

The highway has had several changes over time affecting its route, with the significant alterations including the Caboolture bypass & dual carraigeway (1970's), the Beerburrum, Landsborough & Nambour/Yandina bypasses & dual carraigeway (1980's), the Eumundi bypass & dual carraigeway (2003), the Cooroy bypass (1990's), the Gunalda Range deviation (2000), the Maryborough bypass (1980's), the Wallaville bypass & Burnett River crossing (1999), the Marlborough-Sarina deviation change (1970's).

Note: Information below relates to the northern section of the Bruce Highway (Rockhampton to Cairns). Click here for the southern section (Brisbane to Rockhampton). Motorists are also advised that the route numbering for the Bruce Highway has also recently changed from National Highway 1 to the A1 (as shown above).

State: Queensland
Name Origin: The Bruce Highway is named after former Queensland and federal politician, Henry Adam Bruce who was Minister for Works (QLD) when the highway was named in the mid 1930's.
Start: Gateway Motorway interchange (21km north of Brisbane) - Northern Section (Rockhampton)
Principal Towns: Rockhampton, St Lawrence *, Sarina, Mackay, Calen, Proserpine, Bowen *, Home Hill, Ayr, Giru *, Townsville, Ingham, Cardwell, Tully, Innisfail, Babinda, Gordonvale *, Cairns
Finish: Cairns
Length: 1678km (overall), 1065km (northern section)
Road Standard: All bitumen
Road Quality: Variable, but mostly good. Dual carriageway through Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and from Gordonvale-Cairns. Occasional Overtaking lanes from Rockhampton-Mackay and Townsville-Cairns. Road quality from Rockhampton-Proserpine is quite good. Proserpine-Townsville, the road quality occasionally drops with several sections requiring upgrades to combat localised flooding, inconsistent grade & alignment and narrow shoulders. Townsville-Cairns, the quality improves due to the higher traffic levels between the two larger centres.
Speed Limit (outside built up areas): 100km/hr Rockhampton-Marlborough, 110km/hr Marlborough-Clairview, 100km/hr Clairview-Cairns
Road Continuation: Click here for the Bruce Highway (Brisbane-Rockhampton).
* - represents towns/cities that are bypassed by the Bruce Highway

Photos from the Bruce Highway (Rockhampton-Cairns) (Click on thumbnail for full sized image):

Looking south along Gladstone Road with an old Route 1 marker, Rockhampton (2004).

Looking north along Moores Creek Road (Bruce Hwy) with Mt Archer in the distance, Rockhampton (2004).

Heading north on the Bruce Hwy approaching the Yeppoon Road turnoff, Rockhampton (2004).

Distance sign, heading north from Rockhampton (2004).

Kilometre sign, heading north between Rockhampton and Marlborough (2004).

Looking south along the Bruce Highway as it passes through Kunawarara (2007).

Old style distance sign, heading north on the Bruce Hwy from Kunawarara (2004).

Looking north along the Bruce Hwy approaching the Marlborough turnoff. Sign has since been replaced (2000).

Looking south along the Bruce Hwy approaching the Marlborough turnoff (2004).

Looking north along the Bruce Hwy as it approaches the Hamburger Hut roadhouse, between St Lawrence and Sarina (2004).

Heading south along the Bruce Hwy as it approaches the township of Carmila (2007).

Looking south along the Bruce Hwy through Sarina (2004).

Distance sign, heading south along the Bruce Hwy between Mackay and Sarina (2004).

Distance sign, heading north from Bakers Creek on the Bruce Hwy (2004).

Looking north along the Bruce Hwy as it approaches the Peak Downs Hwy junction, Mackay (2004).

Nebo Road (Bruce Hwy), looking north-east in Mackay (2004).

Heading south-east on the Bruce Hwy as it approaches Nebo Road, Mackay (2007).

Directional sign, heading north on the Bruce Hwy in Mackay (2004).

Looking south-east along the Bruce Hwy from Bucasia Road, Mackay (2007).

Directional sign, heading south-east approaching the Marian turnoff, Beallah (2007).

The Bruce Hwy, looking east between Mackay and Proserpine with Mt Jukes in the background (2007).

Kilometre post, heading north-west along the Bruce Hwy between Mackay and Proserpine, Wagoora (2007).

Looking south-west along the Bruce Highway with surrounding scenery between Mackay and Proserpine, Yalboroo (2007)

Simple distance sign, heading north from the Midge Point turnoff on the Bruce Hwy (2007).

Distance sign, heading south from Tully on the Bruce Hwy. Thanks to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).

Heading north on the Bruce Hwy from Tully. Thanks again to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).

Looking south along the Bruce Hwy as it approaches El Alrish and the Mission Beach turnoff. Thanks to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).

Distance sign, heading south on the Bruce Hwy from Innisfail. Thanks again to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).

Looking north along the Bruce Hwy from Innisfail. Thanks again to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).

Kilometre sign, looking south along the Bruce Hwy between Babinda and Innisfail. Thanks to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).

New style A1 signage on the Bruce Hwy between Gordonvale and Babinda. Thanks to Andrew Kluck for this picture (2005).

Distance sign, looking south-west along the Bruce Hwy, Cairns. Thanks to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).

Directional sign indicating the end of the Bruce Hwy as Route 1 changes from the Bruce Hwy to the Capt Cook Hwy, Cairns. Thanks to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).

	Looking south along Gladstone Road with an old Route 1 marker, Rockhampton (2004).
	Looking north along Moores Creek Road (Bruce Hwy) with Mt Archer in the distance, Rockhampton (2004).
	Heading north on the Bruce Hwy approaching the Yeppoon Road turnoff, Rockhampton (2004).
	Distance sign, heading north from Rockhampton (2004).
	Kilometre sign, heading north between Rockhampton and Marlborough (2004).
	Looking south along the Bruce Highway as it passes through Kunawarara (2007).
	Old style distance sign, heading north on the Bruce Hwy from Kunawarara (2004).
	Looking north along the Bruce Hwy approaching the Marlborough turnoff. Sign has since been replaced (2000).
	Looking south along the Bruce Hwy approaching the Marlborough turnoff (2004).
	Looking north along the Bruce Hwy as it approaches the Hamburger Hut roadhouse, between St Lawrence and Sarina (2004).
	Heading south along the Bruce Hwy as it approaches the township of Carmila (2007).
	Looking south along the Bruce Hwy through Sarina (2004).
	Distance sign, heading south along the Bruce Hwy between Mackay and Sarina (2004).
	Distance sign, heading north from Bakers Creek on the Bruce Hwy (2004).
	Looking north along the Bruce Hwy as it approaches the Peak Downs Hwy junction, Mackay (2004).
	Nebo Road (Bruce Hwy), looking north-east in Mackay (2004).
	Heading south-east on the Bruce Hwy as it approaches Nebo Road, Mackay (2007).
	Directional sign, heading north on the Bruce Hwy in Mackay (2004).
	Looking south-east along the Bruce Hwy from Bucasia Road, Mackay (2007).
	Directional sign, heading south-east approaching the Marian turnoff, Beallah (2007).
	The Bruce Hwy, looking east between Mackay and Proserpine with Mt Jukes in the background (2007).
	Kilometre post, heading north-west along the Bruce Hwy between Mackay and Proserpine, Wagoora (2007).
	Looking south-west along the Bruce Highway with surrounding scenery between Mackay and Proserpine, Yalboroo (2007)
	Simple distance sign, heading north from the Midge Point turnoff on the Bruce Hwy (2007).
	Distance sign, heading south from Tully on the Bruce Hwy. Thanks to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).
	Heading north on the Bruce Hwy from Tully. Thanks again to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).
	Looking south along the Bruce Hwy as it approaches El Alrish and the Mission Beach turnoff. Thanks to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).
	Distance sign, heading south on the Bruce Hwy from Innisfail. Thanks again to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).
	Looking north along the Bruce Hwy from Innisfail. Thanks again to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).
	Kilometre sign, looking south along the Bruce Hwy between Babinda and Innisfail. Thanks to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).
	New style A1 signage on the Bruce Hwy between Gordonvale and Babinda. Thanks to Andrew Kluck for this picture (2005).
	Distance sign, looking south-west along the Bruce Hwy, Cairns. Thanks to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).
	Directional sign indicating the end of the Bruce Hwy as Route 1 changes from the Bruce Hwy to the Capt Cook Hwy, Cairns. Thanks to Jamie Scuglia for this picture (2002).