Taxpayers have forked out $3.8 million to remove a flood-damaged restaurant from the Bicentennial Bikeway and Brisbane River after it was damaged by this year’s floods.
Key Points:
- The 200-ton structure was pushed onto the Bicentennial Bikeway during flooding earlier this year
- The State Government in March ordered the Queensland Redevelopment Authority to use its powers to remove it
- The lessee said the state government had not contacted him about the $3.8 million withdrawal
The former floating restaurant structure known as the Drift was swept into the Bicentennial Bikeway during the late February floods.
The state government then enacted special powers to remove the 200-tonne pontoon in late March under the Queensland Reconstruction Authority Act, which had only been exercised once before the 2011 floods.
In late March, the state government said an independent engineering report had found serious safety issues with the structure, warning that “in its current state, the pontoon is considered to be at risk of collapse ·immediate and sudden lapse”.
Workers began in April to cut the structure into several sections in order to remove it from the bike path.
While the structure blocked the cycle lane, Brisbane City Council converted one lane of Coronation Drive into a cycle lane and introduced a 40km/h speed limit in the area.
The bike lane was fully reopened on June 10.
The offices of Transport Minister Mark Bailey and Deputy Premier Steven Miles confirmed the cost of the removal.
Bailey said it was a dangerous and difficult operation.
“This is a cost for the state government, if the town council wants to make a contribution we would gladly accept it, given that they asked for it but we are absorbing this cost,” he said.
Brisbane City Council transport chairman Ryan Murphy said it was great that Drift had been phased out after a decade.
He said the council had paid for the temporary diversion of Coronation Drive, as well as repairs to the cycle path after the structure was removed.
“Furthermore, the council incurred delays in the commencement of piling works on the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge, by handing over our contractor’s barges to the State Government,” he said.
“As a result, we must politely decline this offer to contribute to the costs of removing the Drift restaurant.”
The tenant, Brisbane businessman Ken Allsop, told ABC Radio Brisbane in March that he wanted to reopen the venue.
Speaking today, Mr Allsop said the State Government had not contacted him about the cost of the disposal and would not pay it.
“They didn’t ask me to pay for it. They decided to, and I wanted to put it back together,” he said.
Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) general manager Kell Dillon said the last piles of the Drift structure were being cut at bed level to complete the project next week.
He said any tenant contribution to the cost was a decision that would likely be subject to legal advice.
“MSQ is unable to provide a detailed breakdown of costs at this stage,” he said.