Birdsville still waits for all-weather access

The difficulties that residents, truck drivers and the many thousands of tourists who visit the community on the edge of the Simpson Desert face on the roads there were aired in parliament in Brisbane last week, during discussion on the Transport and Resources Committee report into the state-controlled roads from Birdsville to Bedourie and Birdsville to Windorah.

It showed that first-hand experience of sitting behind a triple road train billowing dust for hours meant the case to give Birdsville all-weather road access was never stronger.

Report outcomes included a recommendation for the Transport Minister to consider urgent steps to pave and seal the remaining 15.7 kilometres of unsealed road on the Eyre Developmental Road between Birdsville and Bedourie, which would mean Birdsville was no longer the only township in the state's west on a state-controlled road without fully sealed access.

Transport Minister Bart Mellish was asked whether money was likely to be allocated in the upcoming state budget but rather than respond himself, a Transport and Main Roads spokesperson supplied a detailed response.

They said planning projects funded under the Transport System Planning Program were underway for both pave and seal works and a major structures upgrade at Cuttaburra Crossing, between Bedourie and Birdsville.

"The $300,000 pave and seal planning project is proceeding with a report expected to be finalised in late 2024," they said.

"The $350,000 structures upgrade planning project is in the early stages with the business case expected to be finalised in mid-2025.

"TMR will continue to seek additional funding, through various state and federal government programs, to upgrade the remaining unsealed segment of this road."

Committee members travelled to Birdsville last year at the request of Gregory MP Lachlan Millar, and tabled its report in November.

Committee chair Shane King, who represents the Kurwongbah electorate in Brisbane's north, outlined the difficulties in trying to overtake a road train on the dirt roads.

"When you are following a road train, all you can see is dust, so you have to go back a fair way," he said.

"The overtaking lanes are five kilometres in length and it takes you nearly five kilometres, once you get clear of the dust, to round up and overtake the vehicle without speeding and doing all of the wrong things.

"It is particularly dangerous for tourists. Some people buy a caravan and four-wheel-drive and head out not knowing these conditions."

Mr King said not all the issues that could be improved were able to be solved by state governments but said that by working collaboratively, some better outcomes could be achieved.

"We encourage the minister to particularly look at that 15 kilometre road section," he said. "I note the government response that there is some movement on that issue and we do appreciate that."

On the committee's second recommendation, which speaks about the need for flexibility when applying national guidelines to low-volume roads, particularly with respect to how wide and long the bitumen seal should be to allow traffic to overtake, the TMR statement supplied to Queensland Country Life said it referred to an approach they already adopted.

The current design standards for single lane roads with less than 150 vehicles per day requires a seal width of 3.7 metres to 4.5 metres wide.

Average daily traffic numbers in the region, reported in 2022, include 42 vehicles a day on both the Birdsville Developmental Road between Morney and Birdsville, and the Eyre Developmental Road between Bedourie and Birdsville.

The Diamantina Developmental Road between Windorah and Bedourie gets an average 56 vehicles a day.

TMR said that despite the low traffic volumes, it recognises the changing traffic environment associated with the annual events and has customised its approach to deliver a seal width almost double that required by current design standards.

"TMR's approach in its central west district is to seal very low volume gravel roads to a six-metre seal on an eight-metre pavement, allowing for greater safety benefits by providing a longer length of sealed road and enabling eight-metre seals at identified overtaking opportunity locations," the spokesperson said.

"TMR has also developed a customised strategy to improve overtaking opportunities on targeted sections of the road network in the area.

"This approach aims to provide overtaking opportunities every 20-25 kilometres for a minimum length of two kilometres on reduced-width segments of a road or four kilometres where the road is unsealed to allow adequate time for a vehicle's dust cloud to clear prior to an overtaking opportunity."

They said this exceeded the length required by design standards.

Regarding overtaking opportunities, TMR said it would consider longer lengths but said it was only possible where safety requirements, road geometry, road conditions and funding allow.

"TMR will not compromise on ensuring the safety of road users," the statement said. "Both of the customised approaches, outlined above demonstrate TMR's flexibility in localising its approach wherever safe and possible to do so."