BRIDGING THE GAP IN NORTH

EARLIER this year the Bulletin brought to light the history of “the bridge to nowhere” - a ghost railway crossing that could solve the Gold Coast’s worst traffic nightmare.

Veteran developer Norm Rix approached the newspaper about a solution.

Rix Developments has built the $100 million Pimpama City shopping centre, which has become the community heart of the Coast’s fastest growing suburb.

Immediately south of the shopping centre – where the company owns more land on the western side of the railway – an overhead bridge crosses to Mirvac’s sprawling Gainsborough Greens estate on the eastern side.

The bridge was constructed across the Gold Coast railway line in 1993.

At 25m long with two traffic lanes and a pedestrian access on both sides, Queensland Rail built it so construction crews could access the farming property of Paddy Buckler.

But with no bitumen access, this unused dirt track surrounded by weeds remained abandoned.

Mr Rix and the newspaper, through a series of articles, sparked reaction from council and Deputy Mayor Donna Gates who is the area’s representative.

Money was set aside in the council’s transport budget in June to upgrade the bridge so residents from Gainsborough had quicker access west to the M1.

A report today shows QR wanted to increase the bridge’s size and extend the lengths, requiring a shutdown of the rail system and potential 12-month delay.

But council engineers worked on a solution, and as a result the bridge should be open by late November.

This is a fantastic result for commuters caught in gridlock on Yawalpah Rd trying to access the Pacific Motorway.

Just more than a year ago, fed-up residents calculated in the morning peak it was taking 23 minutes to travel 150m to access link roads in the new suburb.

Mr Rix, as one of the city’s most experienced developers, knows the bridge is just part of the solution.

The next step will be convincing the State Government to fast track the development of the Pimpama railway station.