Listening to locals is a bridge too far
Residents fuming after warnings were ignored
LOCALS say they are outraged at Whitsunday Regional Council for not heeding their warnings about engineering plans for a bridge that washed away in flood waters leaving them stranded.
“We knew it was going to happen because they only put dirt and rocks there,” Hells Gate local Michelle Howard said.
“You didn’t have to be Einstein to see what was going to happen.”
Officially opened by the council a week ago, the newly constructed Ted Cunningham bridge over the Bowen River was hit by rising flood waters after only 8ml of rain in a 24 hour period, the Bureau of Meteorology reported.
Glenmore farmer Jim Hiller said the council were now “ducking for cover” since the disaster.
“I talked with the contractors and the pylons are 4 metres deep in the centre here. This part won’t go anywhere.
“They wanted to put two more spans to hit the rock up there but the council wouldn’t have it.
“They made them dig it out and fill it up with crap.
“It had no chance of surviving. None.
“And now council want nothing to do with it,” he said.
Previously only accessible by boat, the new bridge connects residents along Strathmore Road in the Leichhardt Range to Bowen and the A1.
The bridge also provides access to the heritage-listed Bowen River Hotel on Strathmore Station, 34 kilometres from the mining town of Collinsville.
Bowen River Hotel manager Clare Ringland agrees the council cut corners resulting in a substandard design.
“They should have put another span in and it wouldn’t have washed away,” Ms Ringland said. “And now it’s all gone.”
“They only opened it on Saturday, but it’s been operating since February and it’s been good.
Ms Ringland said the new bridge had increased customers to the pub with the ease of access making it more likely for them to return.
“If they had done the approach properly it would have handled the flood, there wouldn’t be a problem would there?”
Councillor Jan Clifford addressed the issue on her Facebook page yesterday.
“The project contractors who completed the bridge are on their way to assess the damage and an update will be provided to the community as more information is provided to Council. We will advise once a safe alternative route has been established.
“Further rain in the Bowen River Catchment is anticipated over the weekend which may delay investigation and repairs,” Ms Clifford wrote.