Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese said the $120 million project would straighten and flatten the highway over the Eton Range, a notorious stretch used by 4000 motorists and truck drivers a day.

“Over the last eight years, it has been the scene of three fatalities and six serious injuries,” he said.

The detailed planning and design work, along with the associated community consultations, will be undertaken by the Queensland Main Roads Department and take up to two years to complete, with construction to begin in 2015.

Albanese said the upgrade of the Peak Downs Highway couldn't come at a better time.

“After all, this road is the main link between the booming resource-rich Bowen Basin and the Queensland coast,” he said.

“This project is a good example of federal Labor reinvesting a proportion of the wealth created by our natural resources back into building the road, railway, port and social infrastructure which the mining industry and local regional communities rely upon.”

This article first appeared in ILN's sister publication ConstructionIndustryNews.net.