THE Mount Lindesay Highway is about to get even busier with confirmation the Bromelton freight terminal development will add at least 85 trucks to the highway each day.
SCT Logistics – the developers behind the $30 million rail freight terminal currently under construction – confirmed about 400 of its truck will utilise the highway each week once the terminal is operational next year.
It would mean about 800 return truck trips per week, with that number set to steadily rise as the freight terminal development grows in size over several years.
The news has sparked concerns about the ability for the highway to cope with the added load, particularly after the state government failed to commit any funding to an upgrade in recent budget estimate discussions.
SCT Logistics Queensland state manager Kevin Turnbull confirmed the numbers and said he hoped a proposed upgrade to Mount Lindesay Highway came to fruition in the short term.
“We’ve been told a number of upgrades are going to happen and we hope they do happen,” he said.
In the meantime, Mr Turnbull said SCT would stagger trucking routes and do its best to avoid peak hours.
“We’re not looking to do anything wrong. We’ll run a lot of trucks at night to get them up and back to Brisbane rather than in the daytime when there’s a lot of traffic,” he said.
“We’re pretty good at it; we know what we’re doing. At this stage we’re planning all new trucks and trailers and our incident rate is very low.”
But the assurances are unlikely to calm fears held by stakeholders, which include local police, councillors and community groups.
Logan Country Safe City Group president David Kenny said he was stunned at the state government’s lack of planning for an upgrade.
He said the highway was already at capacity and lacked proper road shouldering between Chambers Flat and Beaudesert.
“If you’re putting 800 trips a week on a road like the Mount Lindesay Highway, what do you expect?” he said.
“We’re just going to have more incidents and they’ll clog up the highway like they always do because there’s only one lane each way.”
Mr Kenny called on the state government to formulate a plan and consult with local and national representatives so an upgrade can be fast-tracked.
Logan MP Linus Power could not shed light on Labor’s plans for an upgrade but he agreed the impact of additional truck trips was a concern.
“It will add pressure to the highway and I’ll continue to fight for more funding for it,” he said.
“And if the terminal connects to Sydney freight that is being broken up in Bromelton, then it really does becomes a road of national importance.”
Beaudesert MP Jon Krause criticised the state government for recently installing point-to-point cameras on the highway, which he claimed showed its misguided priorities.
“The feedback I get every day is that congestion is the issue on the highway, not speed.”