The Cunninghams Gap Reconstruction Project shows how industry-centered engagement can directly improve infrastructure design. By involving operators and undertaking on-road testing, the project delivered practical changes that improved safety, reduced breakdowns and supported more efficient freight movements, setting a strong benchmark for future freight infrastructure.
The Cunninghams Gap Reconstruction Rroject is now complete and fully open. As a key national freight route, this project was significant for the road freight industry. It provides a benchmark example of what can happen when infrastructure engagement moves beyond consultation and becomes genuine collaboration. It is a strongest example I have seen during my time in this industry of what can be achieved when industry engagement is treated as an integral part of infrastructure design, rather than a box to be ticked.
The operational needs of heavy vehicles cannot be fully understood through desktop design, modelling or written consultation alone. Getting project teams out on the road, into heavy vehicles and alongside the operators who use these routes every day creates a much stronger understanding of how infrastructure performs in the real world.
With the Cunninghams Gap Reconstruction Project, that approach translated directly into practical design improvements.
Industry feedback helped inform the reduction of the final ascent grade from approximately 13 per cent to nine per cent, with heavy vehicle breakdowns subsequently reducing from around eight per month to fewer than two. Other changes included modifications to traffic islands to better accommodate heavy vehicle swept paths, a purpose-designed oversize overmass parking and holding area, and revised merging-lane line marking to improve vehicle movements. These are tangible examples of stakeholder engagement influencing the final infrastructure outcome and delivering measurable benefits for safety, productivity and network efficiency.
For QTA, this is the benchmark of we want to see carried forward into future road and bridge projects. With Queensland's freight task continuing to grow, the infrastructure we build today must be capable of supporting the vehicles, combinations and freight demands of tomorrow.
That means designing with heavy vehicles in mind from the outset, engaging directly with industry, testing assumptions in real operating environments and recognising that better freight infrastructure is not only a safety priority, but a productivity and economic imperative for Queensland.
QTA would like to make a special mention of Wickham Freightlines who offered the use of their trucks and trailer combinations to the on-road drive trials. I would like to acknowledge the great work undertaken by TMR South Coast Region in leading this exemplar approach to genuine industry engagement, demonstrating how listening to heavy vehicle operators and translating their real-world experience into practical design outcomes can deliver safer, more productive and future-focused freight infrastructure.
For more information:
Contact Gary Mahon, QTA CEO, M 0418 736 802
TMR Project Information Page
QTA Safety Guidance Videos
NRSPP Steep Decent Video
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