Urgent action needed on Isaac roads, says Mayor

Urgent action is needed to upgrade Isaac Region roads, Mayor Anne Baker said today.

Isaac Regional Council has unanimously endorsed a motion expressing concern about the safety of roads in the region.

“Roads in the Isaac Region are used by our 33,000 permanent and visiting residents and see a mixture of trucks and other heavy vehicles, four-wheel-drives and conventional cars travelling the roads at all times of the day and night,” Mayor Anne Baker said.

“They are vital to the multi-billion-dollar mining industry in our region and of course to our fulltime residents and visiting workers, many of whom drive in and drive out of our region on a very regular basis.

“There is also a growing number of tourists, some towing caravans, using these roads, especially coming into the winter months. Many of the roads in our region urgently need to be upgraded for the safety of our people and visitors.”

Mayor Baker said the poor condition of Isaac roads was highlighted when the current edition of the monthly RACQ magazine published a list of the 10 most-unroadworthy roads in Queensland – and three of them are in the Isaac Region.

At last week’s meeting, Councillors unanimously endorsed a Mayoral Minute – an urgent motion brought to the table by the Mayor without notice.

The minute said in part: “Council has long advocated to State Government to invest in roads under its control in the Isaac Region. In light of the recent Goondiwindi Regional Council vs Tait High Court ruling; in light of ongoing observations of the parlous state of certain roads; and in light of recent poll conducted by RACQ identifying three roads in the Isaac Region in the top 10 most unroadworthy roads in the State, Council must continue to express its concerns for the safety and amenity of its communities and the road users.”

In endorsing the minute, Council expressed its strong concern for safety and amenity of road users and called on the State Government to urgently increase its investment in the upgrading of roads under its control.

These roads included (but not limited to):

*   Peak Downs Highway, particularly between Nebo and Clermont;

*   May Downs Road;

*   Alpha-Clermont Road;

*   Kilcummin-Diamond Downs Road;

*   Gregory Development Road;

*   Sarina-Marlborough Road; and

*   Fitzroy Development Road.