Residents, visitors and other regular users of the only road linking Bribie Island with the rest of Australia have welcomed the Federal Government’s Budget commitment of $10 million towards the upgrade of Bribie Island Rd between Hickey Rd and King John Creek, matching the State Government’s previously-announced $11 million contribution.
Both State member for Pumicestone Ali King and Federal member for Longman Terry Young agree this is good news for their constituencies, although in recent social media postings Ms King has been critical of the Federal Government for not making their contribution available until closer to the start of work on this section, scheduled in the Bribie Island Rd QLD TMR Masterplan for between 2024 and 2029, a project for which, without any foundation, she now appears to be taking personal credit. In a recent Facebook post she said “Last week I spoke about my $11 million project to dual lane Bribie Island Rd from Hickey Rd to King John Creek”, despite the fact that it was announced by State government in 2019 - a full year before she was elected.
In her State Parliament speech in May she also said “I’m glad the Feds have chipped in $10m but disappointed we won't get most of that funding until 2026 ‘onwards’.”
In fact, Mr Terry Young has already said he is “more than happy” to speak to the Minister about trying to get it brought forward if the State Government required it.
“There has been some conjecture over when work on the latest upgrade to Bribie Island Road will begin so I thought I’d clear it up,” he told The LOCAL News.
“This upgrade is part of the State Government’s Bribie Island Rd Strategy which you can find on Transport and Main Roads’ website.
“This Strategy, which was released in 2019, includes 10 stages of upgrades for the State controlled road, including the upgrade at Old Toorbul Point Rd which is currently under way.
“The Hickey Rd - King Johns Creek upgrade is included as Stage 6 of the strategy and has a 5-10 year timeline.
“Based on this State Government timeline, construction on the project would begin some time between 2024 and 2029.
“The State Government, in its own Budget submission to the Federal Government, flagged construction on this project to begin in early 2025”.
“If the State Government requires the funding sooner, then I am more than happy to speak with the Minister to try and get it brought forward,“ he added.
“I’m delighted that the Federal Government has contributed $10 million towards this project.
“This is a significant upgrade and along with improvements at Old Toorbul Point Rd, it will help reduce traffic congestion, improve safety and support local jobs during its construction.”
Mr Young encourages anyone interested in the State Government’s plans for Bribie Island Rd to check out the Strategy at https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/projects/caboolture-bribie-island-road-upgrade , which can be saved by clicking the Download pdf link on the right of the page, under ‘Contact Us’.
