The bypass is normally closed and is only open during flooding. 20 years after floods on the Cooper in 1990 last closed the
Birdsville Track here, the waters arrived again in June 2010. The bypass was graded with the ferry put into operation for much of the next 19 months until Jan 2012. From the detour it's nearly 50 km back to the Track via the ferry instead of 20 km with the Track open.