By Matthew Pearce
A concerned landholder says the State Government hasn’t listened to residents’ safety concerns about the Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road upgrade project.
The Yeppoon Road upgrade is jointly funded by the Federal and State governments, with the Federal Government contributing $64 million and the State Government contributing $16 million under the Roads of Strategic Importance initiative.
The project has been divided into three sections of work: Artillery Road/Dairy Inn Road intersection with Yeppoon Road; Iron Pot Road east to Artillery Road/Dairy Inn Road intersection; and Artillery/Dairy Inn Road towards Hedlow Creek.
Caroline Martin, a third generation landholder who has a property on the Rockhampton side of Artillery Road, said about 12 hectares of her land would be resumed for the project, along with land from about 13 other properties.
Rather than the land resumption, Ms Martin said her issue was the design chosen for the intersection upgrade, which she called unsafe and a “shocking waste of public resources’.
“We’re not trying to stop an upgrade. we’re trying to prevent a downgrade.”
She said one of landholders’ biggest concerns was the lack of merging lanes on exit from u-turns.
“Users will go from a complete stop into the fast lane without the ability to merge,” she said.
“That’s one vehicle in less than every 20 seconds turning and weaving through two lanes of 100km an hour traffic which will slow traffic and cause accidents, as well as impact emergency services response times.
“We also get almost 2km extra travel time for the 4000 vehicles using the adjoining roads.”
Livingstone Shire Councillor Glenda Mather, who has supported residents’ concerns about the intersection upgrade, said despite claims from Keppel MP Brittany Lauga, no-one was trying to “derail” the project.
“On the contrary we’re very grateful for the funding that’s been delivered,” she said.
“With significant increases in traffic volumes, this intersection has become a death trap, so why would we try to derail this generous contribution when it’s so badly needed?
“It’s not the works people are objecting to, it’s TMR’s design which will not only cause confusion, but it will cause delays, contrary to TMR’s suggestions.”
Ms Martin said the upgrade would make the intersection less safe by increasing the amount of conflict/interaction points.
“Currently everyone is saying that the intersection is unsafe, but how is it any safer when you have to look for traffic coming in every direction?”
Cr Maher said the plan was “confusing and dangerous”.
“Coming from a ‘stop’ position at the U turn, directly into a 100km lane, is an accident waiting to happen,” she said.
“Motorists will be forced to drive an additional 685 metres and 800 metres respectively, bank at the u-turn, then drive the same distance back, just to cross the road.”
Ms Martin said more than 30 letters had been written expressing concerns regarding the design to Transport Minister Mark Bailey, TMR Director-General Neil Scales and various politicians, with little response.
Ms Martin said the Department of Transport and Main Roads had declined to attend public meetings – with at least six held, attended by up to 70 people.
“Everyone has said that they feel like they’re not being heard and that there has been a lack of consultation.”
She said she felt the safest design was an overpass.
“This works safely in all circumstances because it separates and minimises conflicts and if we were in the south-east corner, this is what would have been built,” she said.
“There will always be less confident, tired, distracted or bad drivers and our roads should be designed for them, not those with high skills, because human error doesn’t just kill the ones in error.”
Cr Mather said the best option was an overpass or a roundabout.
“Anything less would reflect short term vision,” she said.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS RESPONSE
A Department of Transport and Main Roads spokesperson said the overall design for the Yeppoon Road Upgrade project has been independently reviewed.
An independent road safety audit has been undertaken, with RACQ’s road safety area also reviewing the design.
The spokesperson said Cr Glenda Mather had raised concerns about the safety of the project’s design and requested TMR’s review of the design, noting her preferred option was a roundabout.
“A roundabout is not supported by TMR or Livingstone Shire Council’s technical experts,” they said.
“The professional opinion of all independent parties is that the design option will improve safety at the intersection and is the preferred option to a roundabout in this rural speed environment.”
The TMR spokesperson said an independent review of the design options was undertaken in late 2021, with five options assessed for the intersection of Artillery Road/Dairy Inn Road with Rockhampton–Yeppoon Road.
The options assessed were a two-lane roundabout, a grade-separated intersection, a signalised intersection, a wide median treatment (WMT) with the intersection configured as a staggered-T, and a restricted crossing U-turn arrangement (RCUT).
“This review considered factors including crash mitigation, connectivity, performance, traffic volume and movements, projected growth, flooding, resumption, design life and costs,” they said.
“The review confirmed the recommended Restricted Crossing U-turn arrangement (RCUT), including protected right-turn access into Artillery Road and Dairy Inn Road, was the highest performing intersection option.”
The spokesperson said Cr Mather had had multiple meetings with departmental representatives to discuss the purpose of the project and the design, including the supporting technical data.
“In 2020, TMR consulted with the community to learn about their priorities for the project to inform the detailed design process,” they said.
“Overwhelmingly, the communities’ priorities were to increase capacity and network efficiency, improve local access and improve safety, with feedback heavily targeted around safety at the Artillery Road/Dairy Inn Road intersection.”
The spokesperson said the Yeppoon Road Upgrade was funded for safety and capacity improvements, and that was exactly what the project would deliver:
1. The capacity of Rockhampton–Yeppoon Road will be improved through the duplication of more than five kilometres of the road, extending from the existing duplication.
2. Safety will be improved through key intersection upgrades at Cabbage Tree Creek Road, Iron Pot Road and Artillery Road/Dairy Inn Road.
3. The design for the Artillery Road/Dairy Inn Road intersection provides protected turning lanes for both left and right-turns.
4. All current access movements at the Artillery Road/Dairy Inn Road intersection will be maintained.
“TMR thanks all those who attended various information sessions held in February this year and for making the time to speak directly with the project team about the design.
“The sessions were well attended by community members with the overall sentiment about the upgrade being very positive.”
The TMR spokesperson said a contract for works was recently awarded to Civil Mining and Construction, with construction expected to start later this month and completion expected mid-2025.