In a bid to address safety risks, Bundaberg Regional Council is upgrading the notorious intersection at Burnett Street and Targo Street in Bundaberg South with work to start this week.
The Burnett and Targo Street intersection upgrade project was identified in response to nine casualty crashes which occurred at the intersection between September 2016 and August 2021.
Within this five-year period, this is the highest number of casualty crashes at any Council-controlled intersection within the Bundaberg Region.
Crashes have continued to occur since 2021, highlighting the need for intervention to prevent further casualties from occurring.
Plans to upgrade the intersection were accelerated after Bundaberg Regional Council submissions were approved by the Australian Government, which is fully funding this $280,000 upgrade through the Black Spot Program.
Council Roads and Infrastructure urban portfolio spokesperson Cr Larine Statham-Blair said the intersection had been a high crash area for many years and it was the subject of previous safety treatments that had not been effective in reducing the number of crashes.
“There have been extensive investigations and many treatments over the years, which have not been effective in reducing the number of crashes,” she said.
“Council improved signage and line markings, installed splitter islands and introduced parking restrictions on the approaches.
“However, crashes have continued to occur, prompting a more comprehensive mitigation treatment.”
Cr Statham-Blair said Council would now construct a raised central median along Targo Street to prevent through crossing and right turn traffic from Burnett Street, which had been the cause of almost all crashes at the intersection.
“This treatment may cause inconvenience to some road users, however, it will help reduce the number of severe crashes occurring at this intersection,” she said.
The work will be undertaken weekdays between the hours of 6 am and 5 pm. Some weekend work may also be required.
Weather permitting, work will be completed by late June 2024.
During construction, the intersection will be closed to all traffic. Detours will be in place with appropriate signage to guide road users.
Read more about the Australian Government’s Black Spot Program here or for more information on local Black Spot Program click here.
Answer to common questions from locals
Why was Burnett and Targo Street intersection upgraded?
The intersection of Burnett and Targo Street had been ranked as the highest risk Council-controlled intersection within the Bundaberg Local Government Area based on the high number of crashes that have occurred.
Nine casualty crashes occurred at the intersection between September 2016 and August 2021.
Most of the crashes occurred due to vehicles on Burnett Street failing to stop for vehicles on Targo Street.
These types of crashes have continued to occur over many years despite Council undertaking previous low-cost safety improvements in 2016. It therefore became evident that a more substantial intersection upgrade was required to prevent future casualties.
The works that have recently been undertaken eliminate the vehicle movements that have been the cause of the historical crashes at the intersection.
Would traffic lights at the intersection be a better choice?
Traffic lights were considered as part of the options analysis process. However, this option was estimated to cost over $1 million due to the site-specific constraints and required the relocation of a significant power pole at the intersection. This was considered a cost-prohibitive outcome for the community.
Would upgrading the intersection to a roundabout be a better option?
A roundabout was considered as part of the options analysis process. However, this option required a significant portion of land to be acquired from adjacent properties as well as alterations to existing underground services. Based on the extent of works required and the associated costs, this option was deemed to be unviable.
Would the installation of speed bumps have been better so traffic could still flow through Burnett Street?
Speed bumps were considered as part of the options analysis process. Whilst speed bumps provide a level of safety improvement, the works that have recently been undertaken simplify the decision making required by drivers on each Burnett Street approach, requiring them to only consider traffic on one other approach on Targo Street.
Won’t the changes in traffic flow to this intersection just move traffic to other intersections making them more dangerous?
Council has assessed the predicted impacts of the works recently undertaken, including the potential re-routing of vehicles to other parts of the road network.
This assessment was undertaken using a traffic model of the entire Bundaberg Local Government Area and indicated that there is likely to be a minor increase in traffic on some of the local roads surrounding Burnett Street and a more substantial increase in traffic on George Street.
George Street is a higher order road with major intersections designed to safely accommodate higher volumes of traffic. Any re-routing of traffic was considered a reasonable trade-off to achieve the significant improvement in safety at the Targo Street/Burnett Street intersection.
Perhaps all drivers who drive down Targo and Burnett Sts need to have their eyesight checked so that they can see the STOP signs and stop at them.
Only way to fix it for good imo.
The problem with this intersection was largely the reflection of traffic in the broad glass spaces on the shopfronts facing that intersection. It could confuse the perception of traffic direction in varying conditions of light and time of day.
NOTORIOUS, its only notorious since this beloved council have let so many thousands come and live here, every intersection in this town is now notorious and one major reason is that the majority of the new city migrants wont let you in or out, causing people to become irate and impatient and boom a crash occurs.
closing that as a through road just places more traffic on to walker and george streets,not been thought through very well has it, lets wait for more george street hinkler roundabout crashes now.
Are you guys fitting traffic lights to the intersection of Targo and Burnett Street. If drivers could read the Stop sign there wouldn’t be a problem.
Hi
How about you fix the intersection at the old prince of wales hotel Princess st and Scotland street east Bundaberg
It is a disgrace
buxton road at the highway first please.
most of Bundaberg’s economy relies on this poor intersection.
Send the cars down a different street. It’s bad enough without the extra traffic to get anywhere. I am in a wheelchair and don’t have a car. It’s like playing russian roulette leaving my house to go anywhere and NOT ONE OF THESE EXTRA VEHICLES DOES THE SPEED LIMIT WHICH IS 50