Queensland’s Bruce Highway could be out of action for months after exploding truck killed one driver and left an enormous crater at Bororen

The federal and state governments have been pointing fingers at each other over who is responsible for making a crash-prone highway safer, after a crash on a notorious stretch of road could have left the highway impassable for months.

State and local officials were unable to say when the Bruce Highway in central Queensland would reopen after a head-on collision between a pickup truck and a chemical truck on Friday morning left an explosion with a 500-metre radius and a huge crater.

The driver of the pickup truck, which went up in flames, died on the spot, while the B-double truck dropped its load of ammonium nitrate on the road, leading to the explosion.

The driver of the vehicle suffered abdominal, leg, pelvis, head and arm injuries.

Premier Anthony Albanese, visiting the central Queensland city of Rockhampton on Saturday, was asked about the highway, but he quickly referred the question to Queensland Premier Steven Miles.

“I had a conversation with Steven Miles this morning… because it is the state government that is doing the public works and not the federal government that has to solve the immediate problems,” Mr Albanese said.

‘I am very aware that more needs to be done. I want to work with the Queensland Government to ensure we do more and that we continue to have more say, including asking for projects to be accelerated.

‘The Queensland Government is obviously best placed to identify those priority projects.’

Earlier, Miles had to deny that financing for the highway had been halted.

“At this point we have $6 billion committed to projects on the Bruce, I don’t think we can consider that as idle,” he said.

“Some industry experts would say this is more than our construction sector can handle at the moment, so we are investing heavily.”

Queensland Environment Minister Leanne Linard said on Saturday the Bruce Highway was expected to remain closed “throughout the weekend”. However, she could not say whether rail services would be affected or what road closures would be in place.

Ms Linard said the state government would continue to lobby for the return of the 80-20 funding split with the federal government.

“I know our Prime Minister has been very, very clear in his conversations with the federal government and the Premier that we need to work together and continue to invest in this path to move Queensland forward,” she said.

‘We believe the fair split in Queensland has always been 80-20.’

Mr Albanese indicated earlier this week that his government would make a long-term investment of billions of dollars to ‘finish’ the highway.

On Friday, Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said in response to the crash that the federal and state governments were working together to mitigate the risk.

“We are working closely with the Queensland Government and I have asked them to put forward proposals to accelerate the safety work, taking into account the Commonwealth’s commitments on funding and future priorities for the budget process,” she said.

‘There is still much to be done and we continue to work with the Queensland Government and the community on the areas they consider a priority to create a better Bruce Highway.’

While the highway will remain closed until at least Monday, the mayor of the nearby city of Gladstone, Matt Burnett, indicated it could last longer as repair crews wait for police and other departments to investigate the crash.

Mr Burnett said in a social media post that the extent of the damage would be assessed once repair crews had gained access.

“Depending on the extent of the damage, the highway could reopen to one lane within a few days while repairs take place,” Mr Burnett said.

‘If the culvert (near the explosion area) is seriously damaged, a side road will have to be built and the highway may be closed for a considerable time.’

Repairs are not expected to begin until Sunday at the earliest, but it is not yet certain whether they will take days or even weeks.

“Once TMR has access to the site, it will commence site clearance, conduct a site inspection and commence assessment of road infrastructure, including structures,” a spokesperson for Queensland’s Transport and Main Roads told the Courier post.

After the explosion, 49 residents evacuated the remote area and a 2.5 kilometre exclusion zone was established at Bororen, north of Miriam Vale, 475 kilometres north of Brisbane.

Capricornia District Acting Chief Inspector Mark Burgess said emergency services were still at the scene following the crash, which happened just after 5am on Friday.

“Just after 9:40 a.m. an explosion was heard and felt and a large cloud of smoke was visible,” he said.

‘The emergency services were able to map the situation with a drone and saw that there were several fires along the railway line.’

It is the third serious truck accident this week on the Bruce Highway in the same region.

On Tuesday, a 29-year-old truck driver was killed in a pile-up involving five trucks near Gindoran, which closed the highway for almost 24 hours.

On Thursday, a man in his 20s was injured when a truck overturned at the Colosseum near Miriam Vale, prompting politicians and transport industry groups to call for major improvements and investment in the highway.

Two ambulances that were on the scene also crashed.

Lee Pennell, a resident of Miriam Vale, said she heard the explosion.

“There was a huge explosion,” she told the ABC‘I live 14 kilometres south of Miriam Vale and our house was shaken by that explosion.’

The caravan park in Miriam Vale was starting to fill up and the local Country Women’s Association had opened a hall in town to help stranded travellers, she said.

A Queensland Rail spokesperson said the train service between Bororen and Iveragh has been suspended and buses are being used instead.