CityCat closures: Eight ferry terminals remain closed six months after Brisbane floods

More than a third of Brisbane’s flood-damaged ferry terminals remain shut with some not expected to reopen until 2023.

More than a third of Brisbane’s flood-damaged ferry terminals remain shut, with some not expected to be repaired and ready to open until next year as worker and supply shortages impact building schedules.

While most of Brisbane’s 21 ferry terminals were up and running within weeks after the catastrophic floods earlier in the year, eight remain shut including stops at QUT Gardens Point, UQ St Lucia, Sydney Street, and Milton.

Brisbane City Council’s transport committee chair Cr Ryan Murphy said “most” of the remaining eight would be up and running by the end of the year.

The repair program may extend until January 2023 for at least two stations, according to Brisbane City Council’s website.

Cr Murphy said the eight stations still closed had been “hammered by a huge volume of debris” and considering some were set to open in October the outcome was otherwise “fantastic”.

The Milton Ferry terminal, pictured in April, is still not open. Photo: Steve Pohlner

“It is in stark contrast to 2011 when seven terminals were completely destroyed and it took years for them to be redesigned and rebuilt,” he said.

In June, council pointed to November as the likely completion date of many of the remaining damaged ferry terminals

It is understood worker and material shortages have slowed down repairs.

Unlike 2011 the February floods did not cause major structural issues to the ferry terminals, with Cr Murphy telling a Brisbane City Council meeting in mid-August there was a “real laundry list of repairs” that needed to happen.

The QUT Ferry terminal at Gardens Point. Pic Mark Calleja

“We didn’t lose any terminals, unlike in 2011. So the recovery effort here is limited to repair work rather than rebuilding the terminals or substantial reconstruction,” he said.

“Now the scope of works includes silt removal from within the articulated gangways. Repairs to the various external panels, replacement of flood damaged components, including anodes, roofing, fencing, glass balustrades and restoration of various paintwork.”

Flood repair work to Brisbane’s ferries and ferry terminals are expected to cost about $17.8m in the 2022/23 financial year according to council’s budget documents.

Eight remaining ferry terminals yet to reopen are Holman Street, Maritime Museum, Milton, North Quay, QUT Gardens Point, Regatta, Sydney Street and UQ St Lucia.

Information provided by Brisbane City Council also noted some operational terminals — while safe — needed some final “ultimate repairs”.

More than 20,000 Brisbane homes were impacted by floodwaters over the course of three days of severe weather.

Queensland’s Inspector-General Emergency Management was tasked with reviewing the response into the southeast Queensland flooding, which stretched from late February to early March, and has provided its report to the state government as of August 31 as required.