Bruce Highway, Australia: Length, main towns & junctions
The Bruce Highway is 1,679km long, running up the Queensland coast from Brisbane to Cairns. Major towns on the Bruce Highway include Gympie, Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville.
The Bruce Highway is the spine of the Queensland coast, and one of the highways in Australia that visitors are most likely to encounter. Most east coast road trips will involve a considerable amount of time ploughing up or down the Bruce.
How long is the Bruce Highway?
The Bruce Highway is 1,679km long. Once upon a time, it connected all the major cities on the Queensland coast, but the route has been gradually altered over time with a series of bypasses. It is still the main route from Brisbane to Cairns, however.
Where does the Bruce Highway start?
The Bruce Highway begins at the Gateway Motorway in Bald Hills, to the north of central Brisbane. It continues north through the Moreton Bay region, with the d’Aguilar Highway branching off in Caboolture.
The next key Bruce Highway junction for visitors comes in Elimbah, where Steve Irwin Way connects to Australia Zoo and the Glass House Mountains.
Bruce Highway towns on the Sunshine Coast
Once into the Sunshine Coast region, the Sunshine Motorway peels off towards Buderim and Mooloolaba. The Maroochydore Road junction for Maroochydore is a little further along in Woombye.
Sunshine Coast towns on the Bruce Highway include Yandina, Eumundi and Cooroy. Take the Eumundi-Noosa Road from Eumundi to reach Noosa.
The next sizable town is Gympie. Turn off shortly afterwards in Tinana down State Route 57 for Maryborough and Hervey Bay.
Bruce Highway in Central Queensland
For Bundaberg and Bargara, take the Isis Highway junction just north of Childers.
Then, after Gin Gin, the highway enters the Gladstone region. The key intersection here is with the Dawson Highway at Calliope.
Rockhampton is the next big city on the route, and there are three key junctions here. The Burnett Highway runs to Dululu, the Capricorn Highway heads towards Emerald and Yeppoon Road connects to Yeppoon.
Bruce Highway in the Whitsundays region
The highway then goes through Clairview and Sarina and the Peak Downs Highway runs to the west just south of Mackay.
Most visitors will leave the highway in Hamilton Plains, just to the north of Proserpine. This is where Shute Harbour Road peels off towards Airlie Beach.
The Bruce Highway continues north through Bowen and Ayr before meeting the Flinders Highway just south of Townsville. The Flinders runs to Charters Towers and Cloncurry.
The Hervey Range Road also heads west from Townsville.
Bruce Highway in far north Queensland
The Bruce Highway, however, continues north through Ingham, Cardwell and Tully before meeting the Palmerston Highway just outside Innisfail.
It then goes through Babinda to Gordonvale, where the Gillies Highway from the Atherton Tableland joins. From here, it’s a short drive into Cairns, where the Bruce Highway terminates at the junction with the Captain Cook Highway.
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