History of safety violations resurfaces after Bypass cutting collapses

A union boss claims the Toowoomba Bypass was one of Australia’s most dangerous places to work, as issues resurface after the collapse of parts of the $1 billion mega project.

Memories of the Toowoomba Bypass and Nexus Group’s history of unsafe work practices have resurfaced with the head of the CFMEU in Queensland saying it was a miracle no one was killed at the build site.

The comments come after the Department of Transport and Main Roads extended the Bypass’s closure as Nexus Group works to repair two sections of hillside cuttings that were washed away by heavy rain.

It is estimated that the closure has resulted in about 1100 heavy vehicles being rerouted through Toowoomba daily and with not firm date about when the eastbound lanes would reopen.

Construction Forestry Maritime Mining Energy Union Assistant Secretary for Queensland Jade Ingham said the $1.6b project was plagued with safety violations.

Large sections of concrete has cracked and fallen away on two sections of the Toowoomba Bypass.

Excessive rain has also washed away several table drains.

“After we finished the job we all breathed a massive sigh of relief,” he said.

“It was good luck, certainly not good management that nobody was killed on the job.”

Data provided by the Workplace Health and Safety Queensland showed the project was subject to more than 200 site visits by its safety inspectors who issued 180 enforcement notices during the construction phase from 2016 to 2019.

Of those, seven were infringement notices, 58 were prohibition notices and 114 were improvement notices.

WHSQ issued 43 notices for unsafe work practices and 37 for violations involving plant or heavy equipment.

Several of the infringements have been resolved by the courts.

They include a construction company that was issued a $75,000 fine by the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on September 9, 2020 after inspectors identified several fall from height and falling object risks.

The CFMEU has called into question the safety measures put in place to safeguard motorists during the repairs.

The safety measures include a double stack of shipping containers.

The court heard these risks arose from unsecured ladders, open voids and penetrations, voids in formwork exceeding 225mm, an absence of bottom guard rails and kick boards, missing and unsecured mesh screening and uncapped vertical steel reinforcing bars which were sighted by WHSQ inspectors on at least two occasions.

Another form work company was fined $40,000 on January 20, 2020 after inspectors sighted workers using scaffolding was left incomplete, with missing and unsecured bottom and mid-rails, and absent scaffold posts and kickboards which exposed workers and others to the risk of falls from height and the risk of being struck by falling objects.

Mr Ingham was scathing in his assessment of the project and has called for a commission of inquiry to probe its procurement and rollout.

“Workers were treated poorly, conditions were poor, and there was an E. coli outbreak in the water,” he said.

“When you see they cut corners on safety, they cut corners on quality as well.”

When asked about the project’s safety record Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey blamed the Newman Government, saying it signed a contract with Nexus which the State could not walk away from without delaying the project for several years.

“It’s important to remember the Palaszczuk Government inherited the Toowoomba Bypass contract form, from the previous Newman Government when we took office in 2015, and the lowest price dominated considerations over safety of workers,” he said.

Nexus blamed excessive rain and poor soil for the damage.

“At that advanced stage of the procurement process, any intervention would have put back the project many years at a time when major infrastructure jobs were at a shortage after years of LNP cuts.

“Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace and I acted together at the time to improve safety on the Toowoomba Bypass construction site by meeting face-to-face with Nexus to rectify safety deficiencies on behalf of construction workers.

“Since that time, the contract form has been reformed under the Palaszczuk Labor Government via Best Practice Industry Conditions to prevent the safety deficiencies that happened on that project’s construction.”

When questioned about the project’s safety and quality record, a Nexus spokeswoman said the work was assessed throughout the build.

“All design and construction work on the Toowoomba Bypass was delivered in compliance with the relevant technical and quality standards and was independently reviewed and certified by a third party,” she said.

“Nexus’ geotechnical consultants have been monitoring movement at the cutting since last year’s wet season, to enable a redesign and reconstruction of the cut.

“Any historical safety issues that were raised during construction were thoroughly investigated and dealt with at the time, and in accordance with the applicable safety policies and procedures.”