Abbott commits to Toowoomba bypass

The coalition says it will provide $700 million towards the Toowoomba bypass, west of Brisbane.

The 42km bypass will run from the Warrego Highway at Helidon Spa to the Gore Highway at Athol and will cost $1.7 billion.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who visited Toowoomba on Friday, said an initial $50 million would be spent in 2011/12, following on from the $43 million already spent by the former coalition government on land acquisitions and a pilot road tunnel.

Mr Abbott said the funding would come from the $22 billion of recurrent savings already identified by the coalition across the forward estimates.

"Toowoomba is a major regional centre that is the social and economic hub for the surrounding Darling Downs and Surat Basin," Mr Abbott said.