March 19, 2024
Planning has finally begun on a possible replacement for the dangerous, single-lane Tanduringie Creek Bridge.
The bridge, on Kingaroy-Cooyar Road south of Maidenwell, is an important link between the New England Highway and Kingaroy and carries a heavy volume of traffic every day.
It is also traversed by students attending the nearby Tanduringie State School.
A near-miss between a semi-trailer and a school bus on the bridge in 2020 prompted calls for the bridge to be replaced urgently.
At the time, replacement was identified as a key planning project in the Transport & Main Road Department’s “project pipeline” for 2020-21.
According to an industry briefing document (4.14Mb PDF) on the TMR website at the time, pre-qualified tenders would be invited during the second quarter of 2021 to develop a business case for the replacement.
The estimated cost of this initial contract was $200,000.
A TMR statement on Tuesday acknowledged that the ageing, single-lane bridge was unsuitable and required ongoing maintenance.
“TMR will continue to engage with the adjacent property owners and other key stakeholders to gain feedback on a proposal to replace the timber bridge with a new concrete bridge,” the statement continued.
“Tanduringie Creek Bridge currently has an excess mass restriction and is reduced to single-lane operation.
“TMR has been looking at options for constructing a new, wider and elevated concrete bridge on a new alignment, to improve flood immunity, safety and traffic efficiency.
“There is currently no funding for detailed design work or construction of a new bridge, however the planning phase investigations will identify a preferred option for the bridge and assist TMR to assess the project’s priority status for future funding.
TMR Regional Director for Southern Queensland Bill Lansbury said $496,000 had been allocated for the planning work for the Tanduringie Creek bridge replacement to “identify a suitable, value-for-money option for the future bridge replacement”.
“TMR will continue to keep the community informed about the project as it progresses,” Mr Lansbury said.
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Surely this is a joke? DTMR spent $200,000 in 2021 to develop a business case for the bridge’s replacement. and they now the propose to spend a further $496,000 to “identify a suitable, value-for-money option for the future bridge replacement”.
That’s $696,000 in outlays … and still no bridge, much less any idea when it will ever be built.
If that’s how DTMR spend our car and truck registration fees I want a refund, please.
I agree Rod. These costings could go a long way towards building the bridge. This bridge has long been a serious problem.
The buggerising around (is it the bureaucratic people causing the delays?) is very costly! Every time I go by there I get somewhat nervous.
Surely there is a better way to do things!
Also the missing link on the Byee Road gets ever worse and worser! Will it ever get done?