Fears Burdell ambulances will be halted by congestion

A petition to parliament is urging the state government to act on a stretch of the Bruce Highway suffering from horror congestion. See why a new ambulance station makes it even more urgent.

The intersection near North Shore in prior years.

Residents of one of Townsville’s outer suburbs are calling on the state government to deliver upgrades to an intersection that has been ‘forgotten about’.

The junction of North Shore boulevard and the Bruce Highway, at the entrance to North Shore in Burdell has become so congested that residents are putting together a petition to request a solution.

Brodie Phillips, a resident of the area, said the road had become an issue ‘four or five years ago’.

“It was flagged back then for capacity and flooding concerns, and we haven’t seen any action on it since,” Mr Phillips said.

“We’ve got residents in Bushland Beach, Deeragun, Jensen that are crawling for kilometres during the peak hour of traffic. It’s adding significant travel time in the morning and afternoons.

Kody Dart and Brodie Phillips are calling for the state government to step in and act on the North Shore boulevard intersection.

“That’s all without having any accidents or flooding closures for the Lower Bohle bridge.”

Mr Phillips said it was ‘time for the state government to give people what they want’ and provide a solution to the delays and dangers.

“There’s been a lot of different suggestions thrown around by members of the community, including an overpass.”

Kody Dart, a representative of Bell Property in the local sales market said the issue was at the forefront of buyer’s minds.

“The amount of times I’ve heard buyers, neighbours, anyone I’ve dealt with, complain about these things, it’s a very hot topic of conversation since I’ve started to service this area,” Mr Dart said.

Mr Dart said the ongoing congestion and related issues had a ‘significant impact’ on property values and buyer interest.

“The amount of times over the years I’ve heard somebody say, ‘I don’t want to go out there, it’s too far, it’s too congested.

“I think the infrastructure upgrades are important to continue to help grow this thriving community.”

Townsville City Council councillor Margie Ryder said she was intent on raising a council motion to support the petition.

Member for Hinchinbrook Nick Dametto said that the intersection had been ‘forgotten about’ and would only become a greater issue when the state government’s new ambulance station gets up and running.

“In the morning, if we have one traffic incident, this comes to a standstill for hours. How will ambulances be able to deploy and get out safely during those sorts of traffic jams?

“We’re spending millions of dollars here to make it safer for residents, yet we might not be able to deploy the ambulance in those situations.”

The petition can be found online on the e-petition website.

Originally published as Fears Burdell ambulances will be halted by congestion