After years of advocacy, Federal Member for Flynn, Colin Boyce has welcomed the opening of the new John Peterson Bridge.
First built in 1925, John Peterson Bridge crosses the Boyne River on Mundubbera–Durong Road, south west of Mundubbera.
Mr Boyce said he has advocated for this much needed project for some time and thanked the local community for their strong advocacy.
“I stood at John Peterson Bridge with the local community prior to the 2017 Queensland State election committing funding for the upgrade of the bridge,” Mr Boyce said.
“Many locals I have spoken with have told me how dangerous the previous bridge was and how the single-lane structure had low flood immunity.
“Unfortunately, the local community and I had to drag the Queensland Labor Government kicking and screaming to commit to this new replacement bridge.
“The new bridge is built to withstand a 1-in-100-year flood event and will maintain network connectivity on the important freight route.
“The new high-level and wider concrete John Peterson Bridge is safer, more reliable, better suited to the vehicle types and volumes and require less ongoing maintenance.
“I consider the safety of the Burnett community paramount and I’m glad the John Peterson Bridge replacement has finally been completed.
“It remains to be seen whether the Queensland Government continues with their commitment to reseal the single lane of bitumen on the Mundubbera-Durong Road. I’ll keep fighting to ensure that it gets done.”
The John Peterson Bridge replacement project received $20 million from the previous Coalition Government and $5 million from the Queensland Government.
