[2] On 17 February, another cyclone crossed the Queensland coast near Bundaberg causing a downpour on the already drenched Brisbane River catchment, which resulted in the third flood of the year.

To increase the strength of the bridge, the through girder spans were replaced in the 1920s with the current steel trusses seen today.

The QR Network identified significant deterioration in the cast iron piers and placed a speed restriction of 15 kph on the bridge.

In August 2009, Queensland Rail commissioned Jacobs SKM to undertake a load rating assessment on three bridges between Bundaberg and Gladstone on the North Coast Line.

The Burnett River Bridge was selected as the first to be examined due to corrosion of the iron piers and its proximity to Bundaberg.

[4] To commence the test, the speed restriction was relaxed to 40kph and a 110 tonne 2250 class locomotive was used to represent an in-service train load.