The Moggill Ferry has been described as being from a “bygone era”, but it appears the service is yet to reach its use-by date.

The ferry was introduced in 1878 and connects Moggill to Riverview, Ipswich, via Moggill Rd over the Brisbane River.

There have been continuous calls for the ferry to be replaced by a bridge.

While a Transport and Main Roads spokesman confirmed the option of a bridge had been “investigated”, he said there were three key reasons why it would not come to fruition.

“We do not consider this a viable option due to factors such as demand, flood immunity and significant construction costs,” the spokesman said.

“Our long-term plan for the western metropolitan area includes the Moggill Pocket Arterial Road, which would provide a new bridge over the Brisbane River to the north of the Moggill Ferry site, an alternative route to Colleges Crossing and improve traffic flow through Moggill and western Brisbane.

“Any future funding of the Moggill Pocket Arterial Road is subject to competing statewide priorities.”

Anstead resident Paul Martin said he was opposed to a bridge replacing the ferry.

“I firmly believe the negatives of having a bridge over a ferry far outweigh any positives,” he said.

Mr Martin said a bridge would increase pollution and traffic noise, affect wildlife and potentially turn Moggill Rd into “a racing track”.

He said councils should conduct a survey of the residents most likely to be affected by the proposal.

“Those are the people whose opinions should be heard and considered, not those of someone who isn’t going to be impacted by it, but who wants a bit more convenience in their life.”

media_camera Crossing the Brisbane River on the Moggill Ferry, 1928

The numbers

■ A TransLink spokesman said the Moggill Ferry carried, on average, 500 cars, motorbikes and heavy vehicles a day. This figure was sourced from 2015-16 patronage figures

■ A Transport and Main Roads spokeswoman said there was an average of 9343 (2015 data) vehicles a day using Colleges Crossing, with about 6.6 per cent of these being heavy vehicles

Tull claims it’s out of day

IPSWICH Deputy Mayor Paul Tully is calling for the Moggill Ferry to be scrapped and replaced with a bridge.

He has been a long-time advocate for a bridge to replace the ferry service.

“It’s a bygone era, it was set up when the Cobb and Co coaches used to run between Brisbane and Ipswich,” Cr Tully said.

“It’s time that they looked at scrapping the ferry and putting in a modern bridge linking the two cities.”

He said a bridge would not only link the two cities but give people easier access to the Ipswich Motorway and the Gold Coast.