Type one road train access to Dinmore remains elusive

Held last week in Rockhampton, attendees heard from  Transport and Main Roads transport regulation branch general manager Alan Mahon that the cost of intersection upgrades and improving the Bremer River bridge capacity were holding the big trucks back.

"We understand that industry is keen to have access all the way through to Dinmore but at this stage the infrastructure upgrades between Gatton and Dinmore are fairly costly and that is something we'll have to work through over the coming years," he said.

It was frustrating news for the livestock transporters, who hope to be able to bring type one loads 40km further east once the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing is opened later in the year.

Queensland Trucking Association CEO Gary Mahon said the Bremer River bridge would continue to hold the most productive corridor in the state to ransom for as long as it took to replace it.

"We need to get our political masters to understand that that investment needs to be brought forward so we can open up the networks.

"It costs more to take a tonne of freight from Millmerran to the Port of Brisbane than it does to take it from the Port of Brisbane to Shanghai.

"I know we'll never get it to be absolutely comparable but we need to get it as close as we can because if we're going to remain internationally competitive, and we need to be, they are the sorts of numbers people roll back at us."

Transport and Main Roads said permits for the Warrego Highway Bremer River crossing were assessed on merit.