STATE election battle lines have been drawn over the proposed Norman Street bridge.
This elusive bridge has been talked about for decades. Things started to get serious in 2008 when the proposal was revived by council and the State Government.
There were feasibility studies and businesses cases which pointed to the obvious; Ipswich desperately needs a second bridge across the Bremer.
Nobody is saying how many business cases have been done during the years since, but currently the project is described as still being in the planning and design phase.
During the 2022 federal election campaign the LNP committed $2.5 million towards the project but was defeated by Labor, so nothing happened.
It’s a wonder we get anything built in Australia with three levels of government seemingly never on the same page for much-needed infrastructure.
There are other examples of stalled projects, but I’ll stay with the bridge for now.
In this election campaign the LNP has promised $4 million for a business case with no sign of dollars towards construction. In a checkmate moment, last week Labor put up $146 million including $4 million for a business case.
We still don’t know the true cost for this new bridge. In 2022 it was estimated at $372 million.
Will the LNP match Labor’s promise before election day?
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