The Duchess to Dajarra Road is set to undergo major upgrades, following a $16 million investment from the federal government to completely seal the isolated western Queensland road.
The funding announcement has been widely welcomed by miners, local graziers, and tourists within the region.
The project has a total cost of $20m and will secure 32 jobs in the region. It is set to be completed by early 2022.
Ben Green, who works at at the phosphate plant 170 kilometres south east of Cloncurry travels along the western route regularly and understands the challenges posed by the isolated Duchess to Dajarra Road quite well.
Mr Green said the upgrade to completely seal the dirt from the Barkly Highway south to the Phosphate Hill turn-off will improve the safety for all road users.
"There are a number of large creek crossings where trucks have to pull up and call up on the two-way radio," Mr Green said.
"There's a give way sign that says to call on channel 40 as it's only wide enough for one-way traffic.
"Once these crossings are widened it'll be a hell of a lot safer for everyone on the road."
Trucking company Wagners' general manager John Stark, Cloncurry, said the upgrade is very welcome.
"We are always pleased to see upgrades to the road networks we use," Mr Stark said.
"Not only do they improve the efficiency of our haulage operations, more importantly they improve the safety of the work environment for our operators, and the interaction our vehicles have with other road users."
Aside from improving road safety, the upgrade will improve overall efficiency and network reliability, road connectivity, accessibility and freight productivity.
The upgrade is one of 600 projects being delivered Australia-wide as part the federal government's $110 billion Building Our Future infrastructure investment plan.
