Caboolture–Bribie Island Road is a continuous road route in the

City of Moreton Bay The City of Moreton Bay, known until July 2023 as the Moreton Bay Region, is a local government area in the north of the Brisbane metropolitan city in South East Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it replaced three established local go ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. The route is designated as part of State Route 85. It is a state-controlled district road (number 126) rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS).

Route description

Caboolture–Bribie Island Road commences at an intersection with the

Bruce Highway The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is part of the Australian Na ...

in as State Route 85. Known as Bribie Island Road it runs east, passing the Caboolture–Beachmere Road exit, and then turns north-east. After passing the Old Toorbul Point Road exit it enters the locality of and turns south-east, east, and north-east before reaching the village of Ningi. Here it passes the Bestmann Road exit and turns south-east to , again turning north-east and then south-east. The road passes the exit to Bestmann Road East as it turns north-east to the

Bribie Island Bridge Bribie Island is the smallest and most northerly of three major sand islands forming the coastline sheltering the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The others are Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island. Bribie Island ...

. It crosses to the eastern end of the bridge, where it ends at an intersection with Welsby Parade and Sylvan Beach Esplanade. State Route 85 continues east as Benabrow Avenue. Land use along the road is mainly rural, but with business and residential developments at each end and in Ningi village.

Road condition

The road is fully sealed, with several sections of dual carriageway. The Queensland Government has a long-term plan to upgrade the entire length of the road to four lanes. The following projects aim to improve the condition of sections of this road.

Old Toorbul Point Road intersection

A project to upgrade the intersection with Old Toorbul Point Road, part of a $30.4 million upgrade strategy, was completed in September 2021.

Regina Avenue intersection

A project to upgrade the intersection with Regina Avenue in Ningi, at a cost of $3 million, was in the pre-construction stage in July 2022.

Duplication between Hickey Road and King Johns Creek

A project to plan the future duplication of the road between Hickey Road and King Johns Creek in Caboolture, part of a $20.95 million upgrade strategy, was expected to be completed in 2022.

Duplication between Old Toorbul Point Road and Saint Road

A project to plan the duplication of the road between Old Toorbul Point Road and Saint Road, part of a $30.4 million upgrade strategy, was in detailed design in July 2022.

Planning for duplicate Bribie Island Bridge

A project for planning and preliminary design of a duplicate Bribie Island Bridge, at a cost of $4 million, is expected to be completed in mid-2024.

History

The Caboolture area was colonised by European people in 1842 when the land around the

Moreton Bay penal colony The Moreton Bay Penal Settlement operated from 1825 to 1842. It became the city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. History The Moreton Bay Penal Settlement was established on the Redcliffe Peninsula on Moreton Bay in 1824, under the instruct ...

was opened up to free settlers. By the mid-1860s farms had been established and the local pastoralists were experimenting with sugar cane and cotton. Some of these farms may have been to the east, along the line of the present road to Bribie Island. In 1912 the settlement of was established on Bribie Island, with a

jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

, a few basic buildings, a postal service, and a regular service by the Steamship ''Koopa'' from Brisbane via . By 1953 a

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

was ferrying motor vehicles from Toorbul Point (now Sandstone Point) to the island, thus greatly increasing the usage of the road from Caboolture. The Bribie Island Bridge was built in 1963, further increasing traffic on the road.

Current usage

Bribie Island now has a large resident population (estimated to exceed 20,000 in June 2021) and is a popular tourist destination. It is likely that many residents commute to Caboolture or Brisbane for work, resulting in the road being very heavily used.

Major intersections

All distances are from Google Maps. The entire road is in the City of Moreton Bay.

Caboolture–Beachmere Road

Caboolture–Beachmere Road is a state-controlled district road (number 128) rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It runs from Caboolture–Bribie Island Road in Caboolture to Biggs Avenue on the foreshore, a distance of . A project to provide safety improvements to this road, at a cost of $15.275 million, was to commence detailed design in mid-2022.

References

Roads in Queensland {{DEFAULTSORT:Caboolture-Bribie Island Road