The condition of Ardurad Road will cost lives if the State Government continues to underfund regional road maintenance Gregory MP Lachlan Millar has warned.

The road, also called the Blackwater-Rolleston Road, is the link road from the Capricorn Highway to the Blackwater Mine.

“This is not just a country road. It a vital economic route that is used daily by coaches transporting mine workers, as well as BMA trucks transporting fuel, stores and machinery to the mine site and Bluff Mine coal trucks,” said Mr Millar.

“Local traffic travelling between Blackwater and Rolleston also uses it, as do cattle and grain trucks and agricultural machinery. I was contacted by residents who fear for their lives when driving this road and I can see why.”

Mr Millar lodged a Question on Notice in parliament this week asking the Minister to intervene urgently to ensure the road is repaired before lives are lost.

“The Treasurer raised mining royalties by 40 per cent in the budget, making Queensland’s coal royalties the highest in the world. Treasurer Dick is literally swimming in rivers of black gold, but none of that money is coming back to the workers and families who earned it,” said Mr Millar.

“The Palaszczuk Government has consistently underfunded road maintenance for years now. They still have a backlog in road maintenance funding in excess of $5 billion.

“No wonder Queensland’s obscene road toll is the highest in decades. With the vastly improved safety features of modern vehicles, this is a tragic achievement by the Palaszczuk Government. Underfunded road maintenance is part of the story and regional roads are the some of the most neglected. I do not want to see families in Blackwater or Rolleston suffering because they lose a loved one to Ardurad Road and a greedy, neglectful government,” he said.