Concerns surface about Gold Coast bridge flood safety as city prepares for cyclone season

A VITAL link to the Hinterland destroyed in floods last year is at risk of being washed away again despite millions spent to rebuild it, an MP has warned.

The John Muntz Bridge during floods.

A BRIDGE linking the Gold Coast to Mt Tamborine and the Hinterland is tipped to wash away again despite the State Government spending $15 million on an upgrade after floods washed the old structure away.

As the council turned its focus yesterday to preparing its disaster management program for the upcoming cyclone system, concerns surfaced about the John Muntz Bridge and causeway at Oxenford.

Theodore MP Mark Boothman went on the attack after asking Transport Minister Mark Bailey about the integrity of the repaired bridge and whether it could withstand a flood on the Coomera River similar to the cyclonic flooding that destroyed the old bridge in March last year.

Residents have previously told the Bulletin the Government and city council have not consulted each other on the restoration work. They fear the bridge and its connection to the river bank will be washed away again.

Recovery teams at the John Muntz Bridge. Picture Mike Batterham

Mr Bailey, responding in Parliament, said Department of Transport and Main Roads engineers advised repairs were carried out to meet Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements guidelines, meaning “the asset was restored to its pre-flood condition”.

But he said the restored bridge would provide better protection than the previous causeway.

The new bridge had a flood immunity of 18 per cent AEP (annual exceedance probability), which Mr Bailey said meant there was less chance of water flowing across the critical hinterland connection than with the previous structure.

Rectified scour protection was designed to withstand flooding of “up to 1 per cent chance in a calendar year”. He said the possibility of another flood like that of March 2017, caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie, was less than that.

But Mr Boothman accused the Government of refusing to protect its state-controlled road network.

Minister for Main Roads Mark Bailey with Rowan Holzberger and Meaghan Scanlon inspect John Muntz Bridge. Photo Steve Holland

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He said Mr Bailey’s reply confirmed the Government’s restoration works would

“do next to nothing to prevent this critically important arterial road from been washed away again”.

“The State Labor Government says it is council responsibility and council blames the state,

yet it is the residents and businesses who rely on this road who will suffer most,” Mr Boothman said.

“It is still fresh in the memory of local residents, the horrendous traffic chaos which ensued

the last time Tamborine-Oxenford Road was out of action. Short trips that would normally take five minutes would be blown out to more than 30.

“No more excuses, no more blame game. Fix the riverbank, stop the erosion and secure this critically important road network.”

Theodore MP Mark Boothman has backed the concerns of residents about the bridge.

The council yesterday used a forum and training exercise at Carrara to begin testing its capacity to manage “disaster recovery’’.

Mayor Tom Tate said ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie had highlighted the need to mobilise and assist the community quickly and for extended periods.

“Once the initial response is over and the sun comes out, in some cases our work is just beginning. This is the often unseen ‘long game’ we play after every event,” Cr Tate said.