There were 41 serious accidents in the early to mid 2000s alone on the notorious Eight Mile, the intersection of the Cunningham and New England Highways that has seemed to defy all efforts to improve safety.

In terms of notoriety, it rivalled the Plainland section of the Warrego Highway – now itself sporting a major overpass – as the site of some Queensland most horrible fatal accidents.

Local residents, tired of the loss of young lives, have campaigned for decades for something to be done about the blackspot, only to be told real improvements were economically “unjustified”.

Now, that campaigning is finally paying off, with the construction of a $25 million overpass nearing completion.

The overpass will separate traffic on the intersection, thus ridding it of a major cause of collisions in the past, often between cars and the heavily laden trucks that use the road constantly.

Crews working overnight have recently installed 10 Super-T girders across the existing highway to form the overpass deck.

The federal government is paying for the lion’s share of the project, with the state contributing about $5 million.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the overpass would see Queenslanders “get home safer and sooner”.

“It’s dangerous when we have two high speed highways intersecting, which something that will now be removed by the construction of overpass,” he said.

“We know how important this upgrade is for regular users of this intersection, which is well used by locals, the freight industry and tourists alike.”