Flood repairs to cost $7 million

Council will soon commence a massive restoration program across the region to repair roads and bridges damaged during flooding in February.

Council has received approval for nearly $7 million through the joint Australian and Queensland Governments’ Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) to undertake restoration works across 1,640 individual locations in the region.

Council Spokesperson for Works and Technical Services Councillor George Moore said the works would stretch across the entire region and take around 12 months to complete.

“A huge part of the Western Downs was impacted by serious flooding earlier in the year, causing significant damage to the region’s road network,” Cr Moore said.

“Following the event, Council completed emergent repairs and undertook a large-scale assessment of the wider road network spanning more than 7,500kms to determine the extent of the damage, before applying for funding under the Queensland Reconstruction Authority’s recovery arrangements.

“Now Council has the mammoth job of going about repairing this damage to ensure our roads are safer and more accessible for all motorists.

Commencing in September, the works will be delivered in a series of ‘packages’, focusing on areas around Jandowae, Dalby, Chinchilla, Tara, Miles and Wandoan as well as all the areas in between.

As part of the program, Council estimates more than 7,000 tonnes of silt and debris will be removed, 18 culverts will be repaired, two concrete floodways will be reconstructed, and 58 kilometres of road will be graded, and gravel replaced.

Cr Moore said Council would be using local contractors to deliver the upgrades wherever possible.

“It’s estimated 45,800 tonnes of gravel and 11,800 tonnes of general fill will be used to undertake the repairs, which demonstrates the sheer size of the works program ahead,” he said.

“We’re also serious about supporting local businesses – particularly during this challenging economic time, and by delivering the works in a series of smaller packages across the 12 months, we’re confident our local contractors will be able to manage the bulk of the work,” he said.

“This is going to be a huge job for Council and is going to take some time to complete, so I thank the community for its patience throughout construction.”

Eligible reconstruction works are jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

For more information, phone Western Downs Regional Council on 1300 268 624.

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