Swallow Street opens in time for Christmas

Swallow Street in Mooroobool reopens today (Friday 20 December) after a culvert replacement project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget by Cairns Regional Council.

Division 4 Councillor Terry James said the road was closed to cars from October 8 and it had been estimated the works would be completed mid-January 2020.

“Council has delivered the Swallow Street works under budget by $140,000 and several weeks earlier than planned, allowing the road to be re-opened ahead of Christmas,” Cr James said.

“The work was carried out to replace deteriorated and damaged drainage culverts that were at risk of collapse and the new infrastructure has a lifecycle of 75 years.”

About 3,600 cars use Swallow Street every day.

The work involved removal and replacement of the deteriorated drainage culvert underneath Swallow Street between Callum and Cochrane streets.

Cycling and walking access was maintained during the works with a temporary pedestrian bridge.

The culverts were widened to include a three-metre wide, off-road cycleway on the western side near Koppen Park; on-road cycle lanes; and a two-metre wide concrete footpath connection on the eastern side.

The project was jointly funded by the Council ($340,000) and the Federal Government’s Roads to Recovery program ($500,000).