Proper traffic management plan needed for Hale Street bridge project

The Queensland Government is not prepared to leave Brisbane motorists in the lurch without a proper traffic management plan for construction of the Hale Street bridge, Main Roads Minister Warren Pitt said today.

Mr Pitt said it was not the case that the State Government was delaying the project, as Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman had claimed.

“The ball is firmly in the Brisbane City Council’s court to come forward with a suitable traffic management plan,” Mr Pitt said.

“Campbell Newman knows full well that construction of the Hale Street bridge, if not properly approached, has the potential to cause massive disruption.

“The Queensland Government is ready and willing to give this project the green light – but not without a traffic management plan to manage – as best as possible – the disruption that this project inevitably will cause.

I’m not sure where the mayor is coming from with this claim that the State Government is delaying the project.

“We have been discussing this matter for months now, and the council is very clear what our position is.

“I have an obligation to the motorists of Brisbane as well as people using buses and taxis to make sure that every effort is made to minimise the adverse impacts of this project on traffic during its construction phase.

“I am determined to ensure that the motoring public and public transport users are not left in the lurch because the council is unwilling or unable to put up an effective traffic management plan.

“If the council seeks to claim it has provided a traffic management plan, then that would only confirm that it is not taking its responsibilities seriously.

“The information the government has seen so far from the council on this issue is too vague and too lacking in substance or detail to be described as a traffic management plan”, Mr Pitt said.

Media contact: Minister Pitt’s Office 3227 8819