Premier makes $700m Bribie bridge pledge while Far North gets $15m

A $700m election pledge to duplicate the Bribie Island bridge while Far North Queensland makes do with the decrepit Barron River crossing has infuriated stakeholders.

No funding has been allocated for the building of a new bridge over the Barron River at Kuranda in the 2024/25 state budget. Picture: Kevin Explores

A $700m election pledge to duplicate the Bribie Island bridge while Far North Queensland makes do with the decrepit Barron River crossing has infuriated stakeholders.

Premier Steven Miles pledged to build a second bridge linking Bribie Island to the mainland without a finalised business case on Wednesday.

In comparison, a paltry $15m was allocated at the last state budget for pre-construction work ahead of an estimated $450m project to replace the ailing Kuranda bridge.

The bridge was indefinitely reduced to single lane operation earlier this year after similar intermittent reductions during the past four years and now load capacity has been reduced to a 42.5 tonne limit.

The cost of the south east Queensland project is equivalent to spending nearly $34,000 on each of the island’s 20,612 residents, while just 3.3 per cent of a total estimated $450m needed to replace the doomed Kuranda bridge has been allocated.

A total of $15 in funding was allocated for the building of a new bridge over the Barron River at Kuranda in the 2024/25 state budget. Picture: Kevin Explores

While the biggest project funded unilaterally by the state government since Cross River Rail will shave a few minutes off a Bribie Island commute, the Barron River bridge is being patched up and a commitment from the state to replace the crossing goes unanswered.

LNP Barron River candidate Bree James was frustrated by the imbalance which she said was “unfair”.

“It’s an absolute disgrace,” she said.

“Far North Queensland gets half a bridge while they are investing in a Bribie Island bridge without a business case and without a need.

“Our bridge is critical and is a need, not a want, and this is totally unfair.

“Labor doesn’t understand that we have got to get the Barron River bridge fixed.”

TMR work on the Barron River at Kuranda has been ongoing since 2020. Picture: Transport and Main Roads

Barron River MP Craig Crawford said he understood a perception that the Far North was being overlooked, however it was his belief that this was not the case.

“I can see that people can put that together but I want to reassure everyone that they are not being short-changed,” he said.

“I don’t think it can be compared, it’s an election commitment in the lead up to the election, the process is very different, he can make that commitment without the support of various departments.

“If the Premier said we are not going to replace the bridge I would be very angry.

“But the government is well and truly capable of building more than one bridge.”

The state government has come under increasing pressure to action a fix for the bridge while at the same time being accused of lacking urgency to replace the critical crossing linking Cairns with the Atherton Tablelands.

Far North locals have voiced disappointment following a $700m election pledge to build a new bridge to Bribie Island, while the Barron River bridge languishes without funding. Picture: Kevin Explores

Documents released under Right to Information in 2021 revealed a 2015 report said corroded parts would need replacing in a time frame “no later than two years”, however overdue maintenance work was not actioned until the end of 2020.

An estimated six-year construction time frame for a new bridge has raised serious concerns about movement of freight to and from the Atherton Tablelands, including thousands of truck garbage movements hauling waste from Cairns to the Springmount landfill.

Kuranda resident Ken Harley said it was “absolutely staggering” the Bribie Island project had been made a priority.

“And you can’t blame anyone for being angry, as people are,” he said.

“The bridge situation has been known for a long time and you would think that if the government did care, the announcement would have been made long before the Bribie Island election sweeter.”

The new bridge over the Fitzroy River in WA was started in January 2023 and opened in December the same year. Picture: Main Roads WA

Mr Harley said if the construction of a replacement Willare Bridge over the Fitzroy River in less than 12 months, then a similar completion timeline was possible at Kuranda.

“In the wider north Queensland construction industry it has been widely discussed as to how the Willare model could suit Kuranda,” he said.

“We need eminent people to fast track the construction of the bridge without getting involved in the bureaucratic tangles.”

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Originally published as Premier makes $700m Bribie bridge pledge while Far North gets $15m