The second of four level crossings is being upgraded in Bundaberg as part of a $21.8 million resignalling project by Queensland Rail.
Work has begun at the Bourbong Street level crossing in Bundaberg to improve pedestrian safety, reduce ongoing maintenance and reduce the risk of road traffic delays.
This follows the commencement of works at the Perry Street crossing, which is expected to be finished later this year. Work will also get underway at the Walker Street pedestrian crossing in April, and the Hanbury Street crossing in August.
It’s all part of the Bundaberg rail resignalling project funded by the Queensland Government.
Transport and main roads minister Mark Bailey on Thursday said the works would support more than 150 local jobs, providing a “boon” for the local economy.
Meanwhile, the wider resignalling project will replace existing signal interlockings with a new Processor Based Interlocking.
“Currently, Bundaberg’s rail signalling system is linked, which means that when there is a power fault or other unprecedented failure, all of the rail crossings in the area are activated as a safety precaution, with the potential to cause widespread traffic impacts,” Bailey explained.
“By installing this new signalling technology across the Bundaberg rail network, the railway crossings … will then operate independently of one another. This means that any incident at one level crossing will be isolated, reducing unnecessary wider impacts to motorists and pedestrians at other crossings in the area.”