Steep cassowary bridge over Bruce Highway sparks outrage
A cassowary crossing plagued by problems has been dubbed a $30m white elephant after photos revealed a near vertical cliff leading to the bridge, however a local conservationist believes the flightless birds can scale steep terrain.
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A cassowary crossing over the Bruce Highway plagued by problems has now been dubbed a $30m white elephant after new photos revealed a near vertical cliff leading to the bridge.
But an expert maintains the flightless birds can scale steep terrain.
Following years of delays, the budget of the troubled fauna crossing project on the Cassowary Coast blew out to $30.7m in July after initially being costed at $9.8m in 2019.
The Smiths Gap cassowary overpass, originally due for completion in early 2021, is now expected to open early next year.
Tully resident Christopher Duffy said the structure had to be seen to be believed.
“Believe it or not the eastern side will be worse than the western side with the big drop, there is some room for a ramp but on the eastern side there is no room unless they dig into the mountain,” he said.
Mr Duffy said he didn’t understand why the bridge has been built when existing 3m high pipes under the highway helped secure safe passage for the endangered birds.
“The other thing is the loss of productivity, for five years the road has been under restrictions, the inconvenience and loss of productivity must be hundreds of millions, I’m sick of putting up with it,” he said.
“The spot they picked is absolutely stupid, I have no idea what they were thinking.”
Frustrated reaction online to the cliff linking the crossing to the valley below ranged from disbelief to tongue-in-cheek queries asking if the cassowaries would be equipped with a bungee rope to get down the slope.
In July, Transport and Main Roads authorised further traffic stoppages to allow for construction of the project Hill MP Shane Knuth previously stated had been the worst planned project he had ever experienced during his 20 years in parliament.
Conservationist Liz Gallie conceded she also had concerns about the gradient of the experimental fauna crossing but was confident the birds would have no trouble navigating the slope.
“We are really pleased that (Transport and Main Roads) has taken the initiative and this is a first and it is experimental,” she said.
“It is steep but no steeper than any of the hills surrounding it and they don’t go straight down, they will go left and right and make a diagonal path.
“Everyone is aware of the challenges and how wonderful that TMR have realised the importance of that passageway.
“It’s $30m in the long term, but if you calculate that every cassowary is worth $1m in tourism then it gets paid off pretty quickly.”
Townsville-based company RMS Engineering and Construction was awarded the tender to build the cassowary crossing and overtaking lane which is expected to open early in 2024.
TMR has been contacted for comment.
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