A DANGEROUS Redland Bay intersection will not have lights installed until June next year, despite the junction claiming the life of a man in a school bus crash last week.
The relatively minor project is held up in negotiations between the government and the Shoreline development.
A Main Roads Department spokesman said money had been allocated for the lights at the Giles and Cleveland-Redland Bay roads intersection.
“We are working with the Shoreline developer to ensure the upgrade is completed next year (by June 2018), weather permitting,’’ he said.
Redland City mayor Karen Williams called on the government for urgent action.
Cr Williams said the government promised in February last year to fix the black spot by installing lights.
“Cleveland-Redland Bay Road is a state-controlled road that is often congested because it carries a huge amount of traffic daily,” she said.
Cr Williams, whose election posters carried the line ‘Karen Williams will fix Cleveland-Redland Bay Rd’, said she had continued to call for the state to accept its responsibility for the road and other thoroughfares that were the city’s worst choke points.
“The announcement of funding for the intersection upgrade was made with much fanfare a year ago,’’ she said. “We await a start on the work.’’
The government announced in February 2016 that it had allocated $4 million to upgrade Giles Road and the Bloomfield-Bay streets intersection at Cleveland.
In mid-2016 Capalaba MP Don Brown said the upgrade was a priority for his government.
Mr Brown said this week that design work was underway and he planned to push Main Roads to get the job done as soon as possible.
Redlands MP Matt McEachan said he had called for an urgent meeting with Transport Minister Mark Bailey.
“The minister has ignored my calls for this road upgrade and this situation is now beyond a joke,’’ he said. “It’s a pity that the minister doesn’t take this matter seriously.’’
Rebecca Griffiths wrote on the Bulletin’s Facebook page that her children were passengers on the school bus involved in the crash.
“My heart goes out to everyone, the bus driver especially, the man who died and his family and friend and all the kids on the bus … something needs to change soon,” she wrote.
Colin Penrose wrote that at all levels of government promises had been made, but nothing delivered. “Our politicians are paying lip service to Cleveland-Redland Bay Road and have been for years,” he wrote.