FLASHBACK: Members of the Mundubbera to Jandowae Roads Working Group chat with Federal MPs Barnaby Joyce and then-Member for Flynn Ken O’Dowd at the old John Peterson Bridge in 2019 (Photo: MJRWG)

June 16, 2023

Federal Member for Flynn Colin Boyce has welcomed the opening of the John Peterson Bridge.

Mr Boyce thanked the local community for their strong advocacy for the project.

The narrow, single-lane bridge on the Mundubbera-Durong Road, south of Mundubbera, was built in 1925.

It was prone to flooding, cutting a vital freight link between the North and South Burnett regions.

It has also been the site of numerous incidents, including a fatal crash in September 2020 when a 25-year-old man travelling towards Mundubbera crashed off the bridge and died.

The Mundubbera to Jandowae Roads Working Group – formed in 2017 to press for upgrades to the Mundubbera-Durong Road case – organised a petition in 2019 calling for the replacement of the bridge as well as upgrades and improvements to Mundubbera-Durong Road.

This petition gathered more than 2000 signatures.

The RWG had representatives from the North Burnett, South Burnett and Western Downs Regional Councils, Regional Development Australia Wide Bay Burnett, AgForce Queensland, Toowoomba Surat Basin Enterprise (TSBE) and the Burnett Inland Economic Development Organisation (BIEDO).

“I stood at John Peterson Bridge with the local community prior to the 2017 Queensland State election committing funding for the upgrade of the bridge,” Mr Boyce said.

“Many locals I have spoken with have told me how dangerous the previous bridge was and how the single-lane structure had low flood immunity.

“Unfortunately, the local community and I had to drag the Queensland Labor Government kicking and screaming to commit to this new replacement bridge.

“The new bridge is built to withstand a 1-in-100-year flood event and will maintain network connectivity on the important freight route.

“The new high-level and wider concrete John Peterson Bridge is safer, more reliable, better suited to the vehicle types and volumes and require less ongoing maintenance.

“I consider the safety of the Burnett community paramount and I’m glad the John Peterson Bridge replacement has finally been completed.

“It remains to be seen whether the Queensland Government continues with their commitment to reseal the single lane of bitumen on the Mundubbera-Durong Road. I’ll keep fighting to ensure that it gets done.”

The John Peterson Bridge replacement project received $20 million from the previous Federal Government and $5 million from the State Government.

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Heavy vehicles regularly used the old John Peterson Bridge which was also subject to flooding (Photo: BIEDO)

  

 

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