Brisbane City Council voted on Tuesday (3 November) to pass the contracting plan for the $105 million Lindum level crossing upgrade at Wynnum West, the ABC reported. The contract to build the upgrade will go to tender in January once the design is finalised, with construction to begin in mid-2027 and completion expected by the end of 2028.

The federal government will pay $85 million and the state government and council will each pay $10 million, according to the ABC. The council's project page describes the upgrade as jointly funded by the Australian Government, Queensland Government and council, and says construction is subject to funding confirmation.

Tender in January

The motion passed with 22 votes in favour and one councillor abstaining. During the council meeting the LNP and Labor each claimed credit for the project and accused the other of ignoring the issue, the ABC reported.

Brisbane City Council infrastructure chair Ryan Murphy said that despite the squeeze on contractors he expected about 10 would bid for the job, and the council would shortlist up to three. "And there is a significant contingency, about 30 per cent of the budget," he said.

Cr Murphy said council officers had worked to "de-risk" the site for the future contractor by finding and mapping the services under the junction, including high-pressure gas, data, rail signalling, water mains and sewerage. Underground powerlines at the site were relocated earlier this year.

Contracting Plan Risks

The contracting plan noted high risks to the project due to "global and economic uncertainty and rising fuel costs resulting in increased costs", "a reduced number of competitive responses to tender" and the need to "interface works with Queensland Rail". A Queensland Rail spokeswoman said it supported the council's upgrade at the Lindum level crossing.

Deadly Crossing

Lindum has been the site of two fatalities since 2019, when a pedestrian was killed after being hit by a train, and in 2021, when a woman died after her car was hit by a train. A Queensland Rail spokeswoman said Lindum ranked in the top 10 for level crossing near-miss locations in the last financial year.

The council-led upgrade will realign the railway crossing to the west so it is perpendicular to the tracks, and new traffic signals will control all movements through the crossing, integrated with the Queensland Rail boom gates, according to the council's June 2026 project update. The speed limit will be reduced to 40km/h on all road approaches to the crossing, the right turn from Sibley Road onto Kianawah Road will be removed, and new shared paths, footpaths and bike lanes will be built.

"[After the upgrade] we won't have the issues where cars could find themselves accidentally on the rail line while they tried to see cars coming the other way," Cr Murphy said. "There were too many things the driver needed to do."

Earlier safety improvements at the crossing, including a longer boom gate and new traffic median islands, were completed in 2021, according to the Department of Transport and Main Roads, which says a grade-separated overpass at the location remains a longer-term consideration. Cr Murphy said the council had previously promised $40 million for an overpass, but even with federal funding it was not enough without a bigger contribution from the state. "A flyover would have exceeded $200 million, and all the advice was that [Lindum] would not even rank in the top 10 to receive a flyover, due to traffic volumes," he said.

The project is also expected to improve freight movements to and from the Port of Brisbane by reducing disruptions along the dedicated freight rail line caused by safety-related closures, Redland Bayside News reported in August.

Coopers Plains Crossing Stalled

Meanwhile, the Coopers Plains level crossing at Boundary Road, a state-led project that will be an overpass and was supposed to start construction in 2025, remains indefinitely stalled. Federal Labor MP for Moreton Julie-Ann Campbell told 612 ABC Brisbane the consultation had been done, the designs completed, land acquired and buildings demolished, but there was no start date for construction. The Department of Transport and Main Roads said in a statement it was committed to the project for "future delivery" and that planning was well advanced.