Huge sign Qld border won’t be opening any time soon

The sudden appearance of these new structures are the biggest hint yet Queensland’s border will stay shut for weeks - if not months.

It’s the worrying new sign that Queensland’s border could stay shut for weeks – and even months.

Giant drive-through marquees have gone up over the Gold Coast Highway to protect checkpoint officials from the elements.

The four structures, which are anchored to concrete blocks, were installed spanning the northbound lanes of the highway at Bilinga, near Gold Coast Airport, last week.

The new marquees at the border checkpoint at Bilinga. Picture: Greg Stolz

It’s the main border checkpoint through which all semi-trailers are diverted as police ramp up inspections of heavy vehicles after a spate of Covid-positive truckies entered Queensland in recent months.

A similar structure was installed on the M1 during the extended border closure last year, which ran for more than six months.

Extra barricades have also been erected at the Bilinga checkpoint, where a drive-in vaccine hub for truckies has also been established.

The marquees will shield checkpoint police and soldiers from the sun and wet weather as they process thousands of vehicles crossing the border daily.

The new marquees at the border checkpoint at Bilinga. Picture: Greg Stolz

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has repeatedly dodged questions about when the state government will reopen the border, despite the national cabinet agreeing to an 80 per cent double-dose vaccination target.

Tourism and business leaders have voiced fears that the border could stay shut through Christmas. It was slammed shut to NSW in July and later closed to Victoria and the ACT as cases in the southern states surged.

The new marquees at the border checkpoint at Bilinga. Picture: Greg Stolz

In August, chief health officer Jeannette Young said she hoped the restrictions would be in place for “no longer than 10 weeks’ – meaning the end of October.

But Queensland is not expected to hit the 80 per cent double-jab target until mid-November at the earliest.

Originally published as Huge sign Qld border won’t be opening any time soon