ANOTHER truck crash at the infamous Pine Street Bridge at Wynnum has authorities struggling to find ways to improve the dangerous underpass.
The bridge has had 34 strikes and was already listed in Queensland Rail’s top five strike locations across the state when it launched an awareness campaign in May.
The two-part Rail Bridge Safety campaign, Don’t get your truck stuck!, was aimed at increasing awareness to drivers about the dangers of bridge strikes.
A recent crash caused major traffic hold-ups but no damage to the bridge as a steel protection beam installed ahead of the bridge took the full impact and the truck sustained most of the damage.
Asked if Brisbane City Council had plans to improve safety and warning devices on the surrounding roads following the recent crash, a council spokesman said the Pine Street Bridge was owned and maintained by Queensland Rail.
He said Brisbane City Council had installed warning signs advising of low clearance on the roads leading up to the bridge at the Pine St approach towards Wynnum and from Wynnum and both directions on Tingal Rd.
Queensland Rail Head of South East Queensland Neil Backer said it had partnered with the Queensland Police Service and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator in June to target the Pine St, Wynnum rail bridge for a high visibility strike prevention blitz.
“The rail bridge at Pine St, Wynnum has a protection beam on both sides, clearly visible advance warning road signage, height signage and monitoring cameras,” Mr Backer said.
“The protection beams in place at Pine St, Wynnum are the preferred solution as they protect the rail bridge from major damage, therefore minimising the risk of disruption to Queensland Rail’s onboard customers.”
Protection chimes were removed from the site in 2017 in favour of protection beams.
Mr Backer said the protection chimes still resulted in drivers hitting the rail bridge.
“While we still see vehicles hitting the protection beams in this location, our rail customers are not as severely impacted, thanks to this infrastructure,” he said.
Queensland Rail pursues individuals who damage rail infrastructure to recover costs, and investigations into the recent incident at Wynnum are ongoing.
