Investment in roads and bridges to continue to drive regional prosperity

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Published
6 July 2020
Road network 425 x 280

Council’s allocation of $23.83 million to the Scenic Rim’s road and bridge network in 2020-21  represents an ongoing investment in the growth and development of the region.

Mayor Greg Christensen said Council was committed to ensuring the best value to ratepayers through investment in infrastructure to support the growing needs of a growing region and to assist in the Scenic Rim’s economic recovery from COVID-19.

The 2020-21 Budget provides $11.21 million for the maintenance of roads and bridges, $5.39 million for the upgrade and repair of bridges and $7.23 million for capital expenditure on roads, drainage and footpaths.

“As well as connecting our communities, our road and bridge network acts as a key driver of our regional economy, and this will be even more important as we continue the journey to recovery following COVID-19,” Cr Christensen said.

“The value of our investment in roads and bridges was highlighted late last year during the Sarabah bushfires, when our recently upgraded infrastructure was better able to support the fire-fighting and evacuation effort.”

Council is committed to a long-term strategy to replace ageing timber bridges throughout the Scenic Rim with more contemporary structures of concrete or steel to help realise the shared Community Plan vision for an accessible and serviced region.

“By the end of 2020-21, we expect that the number of timber bridges in our regional network will be 61, down from 97 in 2011,” Cr Christensen said.

“More contemporary structures constructed with steel and concrete are safer, more resilient, require less maintenance and are free of load limits - a significant benefit for our rural community which depends on the reliable movement of modern heavy vehicles and farm equipment.

“In addition to agriculture, our region also relies heavily on tourism and the visitors who contribute more than $150 million annually to our local economy will welcome the ongoing improvements to our road and bridge network.”

Council’s budget for roads and bridges in 2020-21 includes capital works of:

  • $3.12 million for road reseals
  • $1.3 million for works on Beechmont Road from Tucker Lane to Botan Creek Bridge
  • $684,000 for minor works and design, and
  • an additional $982,000 on Beechmont Road funded through the Australian Government’s Black Spot Program.

Capital works on bridges in 2020-21 include:

  • $2 million for Spring Creek Bridge at Kerr
  • $2 million for Keaveny Bridge at Darlington
  • $789,000 for major culverts and floodways
  • $450,000 for minor bridge rehabilitation and,
  • a total of $155,000 on the rehabilitation of Flying Fox Bridge at Ferny Glen and Freeman Bridge at Veresdale Scrub.