By Staff Writer Matt Owen
There was another crash on the Bribie Island bridge recently, the fifth in a little over 12 months.
When the bridge is blocked, cars, buses and trucks stop, they grind to a halt, normally for hours at a time, turning a 10-minute drive into two hours or more. There is one way on and one way off. Kids wait at schools after hours, nobody moves, the whole island comes to a stop in one big traffic jam. Emergency vehicles cannot access the island and traffic backs up along Bribie Island Road and then congestion banks up Bestmann Road, through Sandstone Point, pretty much all the way back to the Bruce Highway. A scene we have seen too many times.
The Bribie Island bridge was constructed in 1963, making it 58 years old. Prior to this, access to the island was by boat or barge.
Some reports have put the expected lifespan of the bridge at 75 years, meaning a new bridge will certainly be required by 2038. Other reports, based on updated traffic estimates, say the lifespan is until 2031. Another 10 to 17 years away.
Former member for Pumicestone Lisa France was the sitting member when land was purchased just north of the current bridge on the mainland and island. Reports were undertaken, based around a $150m duplicate bridge, 15m north of the existing bridge, comprising four lanes and a footpath.
This would provide the option of using the ‘old’ bridge for recreational purposes such as fishing, walking, cycling and maybe even markets. That would be cool, and it all sounds great. Except, and here is the ‘but’, this report was published in 2014, seven years ago and under a different government. It will be extremely interesting to see what the actual cost is when the new bridge is eventually completed. Remember the estimate of $150m in 2004? It would not be surprising if this doubled by 2030.
Reports but still no action
The $205,000 DTMR report in 2004 and the land acquisition should have been the catalyst for change. But nothing has happened. Nothing. There was the guard rail that was added over 20 years ago after a tragic accident. There has been regular maintenance, but no improvement, no implementation of devices or strategies to limit the number of crashes. Some people will just blame drivers 100%, but surely there are things that can be done to improve safety before, on and over the bridge?
In fact, after an accident in November of last year I spent the best part of a Sunday putting together some recommendations of what could be done to improve the safety of the bridge. This was then put forward to a local Facebook community group for further comment and feedback. With over 600 responses it was a worthwhile exercise, even if it did bring a few keyboard warriors out.
At this point, it must be asked, what causes these accidents? The usual suspects like tailgating, braking too quickly, not watching the road, enjoying the view, speeding, going too slow, veering into the other lane, using mobile phones, not knowing it’s a dangerous stretch of road – the list goes on.
So what can be done in the next few years while we wait for a new bridge? (Side note: My intuition tells me that it will be announced as part of the 2024 State Election and will be built just before the 2028 election; that seems to be how things work these days. Big projects seem to be announced and delivered in election cycles).
In amongst all the publicity from the Labor Government around the Bribie Island Satellite Hospital leading up to the 2020 State Election, many may have forgotten there was also $4m earmarked for a study and planning for the new bridge. We’re still waiting to be told what this $4m study will show compared to the previous report completed in 2014 at a cost of $205,000.
Community Recommendations
So with that said, here are the 15 recommendations that were provided from myself and the community through this online discussion. None of these are state-of-the-art, but are in use in other locations.
1. The sharp left turn onto Sylvan Beach Esplanade. This could be turned into a cul-de-sac. It would increase traffic flow to the first roundabout which would have to go up Eucalypt St. It would also inconvenience some local residents who would have to drive a bit further. It would also benefit them by having less traffic past their homes. If it is decided best not to close this entry point, please consider adding a sign, say 100m before the turn, to say something like, “Indicate now to turn left onto Sylvan Beach Esplanade”. This turn does sneak up on people, it is sharp and it is dangerous.
2. Investigate the effect of reducing or increasing the speed limit on the bridge to 50km/hr or 70km/hr, which may be an option if some of the changes below are made. What would this do to traffic flow? How about a fixed speed camera? Maybe the resulting fines could help pay for the new bridge?
3. Place chevrons on each lane so drivers keep the minimum two-second distance between them and the vehicles in front of them. It would be good if this was policed as well. Do people ever get fined for tailgating?
4. Place signage at the mainland end of the bridge warning about road safety on the bridge. This is similar to ‘black spot’ safety signage on other roads.
5. Investigate widening the driving lanes by removing the pedestrian path. Use this space between the lanes as a ‘spacer’ between the lanes, as successful ly done along the D’Aguilar Hwy. This widens the gap between cars and gives additional space and time.
6. The pedestrian access could then be built as an extension to the current structure. Ideally this would be about 2m wide to allow 2-way access for pedestrians, cyclists and mobility scooters.
7. Review the laws around fishing/jumping from the bridge. If it is legal, cater for it. If it isn’t, police it. One way or the other; at the moment it is neither.
8. Add safety paint/audible/vibrating markers so when cars veer off drivers are warned, hopefully with sufficient notice to correct their path.
9. Investigate the current public transport system that NO tourists currently use. Imagine a Park and Ride, free buses or even alternative transport like electric buses etc. There should be a way to make this work. And, as we are an island, you would think ferries would be a viable means of transport. One of the objectives of a public transport system is to remove vehicles from the road and ease congestion. Terminals could be established at Redcliffe and Brisbane City to start with. This would also benefit locals heading to these destinations – not just tourists coming here.
10. Install electronic signage that shows if you are travelling too close – this would serve as a warning for cars to allow more space between each other.
11. Fencing/visual blocking of the view. This works well on other bridges and increases the focus of drivers on the road. The Pumicestone Passage view is amazing and many drivers just can't help but sneak a peak. Note how effectively this strategy works on the Gateway Bridge and Maroochy River.
12. Review of the Sandstone Point Hotel and other community events traffic management during large scale events. Is enough being done? Do developers contribute enough to infrastructure?
13. Review of existing roundabouts to ensure line of site/maintenance/safety is at optimum levels. In particular, pulling out on the first roundabout from Bongaree is often difficult. What effect do all of these traffic lights have on traffic flow? Should there really be so many?
14. Build tourism infrastructure on different parts of the Island so tourists don’t just go to 2-3 main locations. Review the local road network on the island for new routes/take pressure off high traffic areas.
15. Create a tourism strategy and visitor management strategy to assist with large scale events, holiday season and traffic management.
These are all simple options which you would hope traffic engineers and professionals in this space would be able to consider and perhaps even improve on.
We continue to see car accidents on a regular basis that impact greatly on residents and visitors to the island. Sitting in traffic for hours is nobody’s idea of fun and when you couple it with the never-ending Old Toorbul Road works and associated delays it isn’t good enough.
It isn’t good enough that nothing has been done. Time to do Something. Just don’t do Nothing!
By the way, we are still collecting signatures for the petition.