Late yesterday, Queensland Police confirmed a temporary bridge has been built on the Bruce Highway at Ollera Creek.
The new structure replaces the fallen Ollera Creek Bridge, allowing critical emergency services and supplies to get into isolated areas from Townsville.
The single lane bridge, now open, will be operational between 8am and 5.30pm subject to environmental conditions. It can only take one vehicle at a time travelling two kilometres per hour.
The bridge serves as the only road into flood affected areas, including Ingham and the Hinchinbrook Shire, from the south, but it doesn’t allow heavy vehicles to access the area.
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Emergency services vehicles will be crossing the bridge to provide critical supplies and services to the nearby towns, with police setting up checkpoints along the Bruce Highway to triage requests for the crossing.
Heavy vehicles in excess of 35 tonnes will not be able to cross the bridge as the weight risks compromising the integrity of temporary structure, meaning they will be turned away.
Everyone is reminded to expect delays, drive with caution and adhere to the advice of traffic controllers and police at the scene so that the bridge can operate as efficiently as possible.
This arrangement will be for the foreseeable future, while work is underway to open more routes to deliver critical supplies and support into the flood impacted towns in North Queensland.
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