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A man has died after being struck by a vehicle on the Burnett Highway at Malmoe, 400 kilometres north-west of Brisbane.
The road is being used as a heavy vehicle detour, after the closure of Queensland's Bruce Highway due to a horror chemical truck crash and explosion on Friday that caused large-scale damage to the roadway.
The 53-year-old Eli Waters man was hit by a utility about 12:30am Sunday and died at the scene.
A 50-year-old Sunshine Acres man driving the utility was not injured and is assisting police with their inquiries.
The Burnett Highway was closed to all traffic until just before 9.30am.
Bruce Highway diversions may be in place for weeks
A section of the Bruce Highway, which runs between Brisbane and Cairns, has been closed since Friday morning after a truck carrying 42 tonnes of ammonia nitrate collided with a ute at Bororen, south of Gladstone.
The 47-year-old truck driver from New South Wales was airlifted to hospital in a serious condition, while the driver of the ute died at the scene.
About 50 people were evacuated from nearby after the truck exploded.
The ammonia nitrate explosion put a huge crater in a section of the Bruce Highway. (Supplied)
The highway remains closed in both directions between Gin Gin and Calliope.
The diversions around the state's major highway may be in place for weeks, with a large culvert on the impacted area potentially creating major difficulties for repair crews.
Light vehicles are being diverted north of Gin Gin through Monto and Biloela, adding almost four hours to the journey.
Diversions are in place on the Bruce Highway, which is closed between Gin Gin and Calliope. (Facebook)
'Long wait' if culvert is damaged
Gladstone Mayor Matt Burnett said there was "significant damage" to the area.
He said it was unclear whether a culvert which allows water to run under the road and was located near the crash site would need remediation works.
Cr Burnett said repairs to the culvert could cause the major thoroughfare to be closed for weeks.
Matt Burnett says if the culvert isn't damaged the highway could reopen in days, if it is then weeks. (ABC News)
"It's going to be a long wait before the Bruce Highway is open," Cr Burnett said.
"If the infrastructure there, particularly the culvert, isn't damaged and the Main Roads Department thinks they can get the road open again, possibly just one single lane, that might be a few days.
"So we might be able to see something Tuesday, Wednesday next week.
"However, if the culvert is damaged and a side road needs to be put into place we're looking at a significant timeframe before the highway will be back open."
Truckies have called for change for years
Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) chief executive Gary Mahon said members of the industry were hoping the route could open early next week.
He said, for now, drivers were forced to add hours to their journey with heavy vehicles being diverted at Childers through Biggenden and Biloela.
"If you just have a think about the Queensland map we've got to do a big loop around … to even come into a place like Gladstone," he said.
Gary Mahon says the Queensland Trucking Association has been seeking significant capital investment in the highway. (Supplied: QTA)
Mr Mahon said the QTA had been pushing for upgrades to the Bruce Highway for more than half a decade.
"The main sentiment coming back to us is that a spate of incidents like this was going to happen sooner or later," he said.
"It just really illustrates why we've been pushing so hard to get a significant uplift in capital investment on this highway."
First responders offered support
The QTA's comments come as local Gladstone Police Inspector Darren Somerville told the ABC that police patrolling the horror stretch of highway were being offered extra support after attending three serious crashes, including two fatal incidents, over the past week.
"The staff that attended [Friday's crash] also attended the truck crash which happened south of there on Tuesday and another truck crash which happened the following day. So they've had a lot of trauma over the past week," he said.
"We're just making sure that they're OK and that they get a rest for the next few days."
Inspector Somerville said police working around the Gladstone area were experienced officers who regularly attended traffic incidents on Bruce Highway as first responders alongside paramedics.
"It can be fairly tiring and emotional but we just make sure we look after them and provide them the support we can," he said.
RACQ flags 'substandard' highway
Friday's crash has also caused the RACQ to renew calls for increased funding to the state's major road corridor.
RACQ's general manager of advocacy Joshua Cooney said users of the "substandard" Bruce Highway were more likely to be involved in a serious collision than other comparable roads.
"It's unsafe. It's a two-star rating, according to established rating systems," he said.
"It's leading to an average per kilometre travel fatality and serious injury crash rate that's three times higher than the Pacific Motorway and four times higher than the Hume Highway.
"As Queenslanders, you really have to say enough is enough. We have to stand up and say we really deserve better than this."
PM to consult with state government
Labor frontbencher Leanne Linard has said the state government would continue to call on the federal government to increase its proportion of the funding split for road projects, which is currently 50:50.
Speaking in Rockhampton on Saturday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the federal government was investing $10 billion in the Bruce Highway and would work with the Queensland government to identify priorities.
Anthony Albanese says the federal government is investing "record amounts" in the Bruce Highway. (ABC News: Russel Tallbot)
A spokesperson for Transport and Main Roads (TMR) said department staff were "undertaking incident management and supporting the Queensland Police Service while it oversees the crash site" at the Bruce Highway.
"Upon gaining access to the site, TMR will commence site clean-up, undertake a site inspection, and begin assessments of road infrastructure including structures," the spokesperson said.
"The Bruce Highway is not expected to be reopened over the weekend."
A spokesperson for Resources Safety and Health Queensland said their investigation was ongoing.
Locals suffer supply issues
Jeffrey "Macca" Pengilly has been the Bororen Hotel publican for more than seven years and said the closure of the Bruce Highway due to crashes was becoming more frequent.
"I think it's getting worse, and the driving conditions and the road conditions are certainly not getting any better," he said.
"I think it's about time some of our leaders had a serious look at some of the problems on the Bruce Highway."
Mr Pengilly says highway closures have become more frequent in the past six months. (ABC News: Nikki Sorbello)
Mr Pengilly said freight trains had been stopped at Bororen and Miriam Vale after the explosion.
"That whole train is full of groceries for North Queensland and they haven't got any supply," he said.
"It just shows you how vulnerable we are when there's an incident."
A Queensland Rail spokesperson said the North Coast Rail Line reopened late on Saturday.
Workers had been repairing powerlines above the tracks, south of Gladstone, which provide freight and passenger services to the region.