Deb Frecklington under pressure to upgrade single-lane bridge on New England Hwy in Cooyar

Attorney-General and Nanango MP Deb Frecklington’s past commitment to upgrade a single-lane bridge that has been the site of 17 crashes is under fresh scrutiny. SEE OUR INTERACTIVE MAP

Attorney-General Deb Frecklington during the Queensland parliament question time. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Nanango MP Deb Frecklington and the LNP is under further pressure to maintain a $5m pledge to upgrade a single-lane bridge on the New England Highway north of Toowoomba that she herself described as “dangerous”.

Further remarks made in parliament have surfaced of the state’s attorney-general calling for the replacement of the Back Creek bridge just south of Cooyar, which has been the site of multiple serious crashes since 2001.

It comes on the back of advocacy to ensure the LNP makes good on a promise it made to locals more than eight years ago.

Social media polling by News Corp of Toowoomba and South Burnett readers shows an overwhelming support for the upgrade, with more than 99 per cent of more than 2000 responses voting in favour of it.

After promising to upgrade it as a “priority” ahead of the 2017 state election, Ms Frecklington slammed the Labor government on three occasions in 2020, 2021 and 2022 for failing to fund it.

Cooyar's single-lane bridge. Photo: Jessica Klein

“Key projects that my community needs funding for include the … Cooyar single-lane bridge, but once again we have been completely overlooked,” she told parliament in December 2020, two months after she lost the Queensland election.

“In relation to the Nanango electorate, there is nothing more disappointing in this budget than the lack of road funding. This is what we have missed out on: a single-lane bridge on the New England Highway at Cooyar,” she said again in June 2021.

“Over the past year I have continued to advocate for funding for key roads … (including) the single-lane Cooyar Bridge on the New England Highway, but still there is nothing,” she reiterated in June 2022.

There was no funding commitment for the bridge in the LNP’s first budget in a decade which was handed down by treasurer David Janetzki.

In response to questions from News Corp, Ms Frecklington said she still believed the bridge needed to be upgraded, but did not offer a funding timeline.

“I stand by my longstanding calls for upgrades to the Back Creek Bridge, and completely agree with the readers of the Toowoomba Chronicle who voted in favour of the bridge upgrade,” she said.

“This remains a priority for me, after the former Labor government left behind an enormous $8 billion road maintenance backlog across Queensland.

“As we start chipping away at the lengthy backlog of Labor’s underfunded roads across Queensland, I am proud to have secured funding to progress works at the Tandurignie Bridge, near Cooyar – another local bridge in desperate need of replacement.”

The resurfaced comments come after an analysis of crash data revealed there had been 17 crashes at or within 250m of the bridge since 2001, resulting in 21 injuries and hospitalisations.

News Corp is not suggesting every incident is a direct result of the bridge, however the data shows a clustering of crashes around the same area that is disproportionate to the other 7 crashes reported on the New England Highway in the locality of Cooyar.

Safety investigations and planning by the Department of Transport and Main Roads into the bridge and the Cooyar-Rangemore Road intersection with the highway, which started in 2023, were due to be finished last month but have yet to be delivered to the government.

The department has been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Deb Frecklington under pressure to upgrade single-lane bridge on New England Hwy in Cooyar