Southern Downs residents can expect more activity on the road network and additional construction crews being deployed across the region to undertake flood repairs, with final approvals for last year’s flood event now secured.

With an estimated total repair bill of $52.5m, more than 600 individual roads across the region will have been repaired through the works program funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments’ Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) and Southern Downs Regional Council since 2020 February.

Additional resources will be directed on repairing defects in the sealed road network, with multiple Council crews and contractors working across the region in the coming months.

The estimated cost of all additional repairs is approximately $10m. Any unfunded defects will remain on the backlog list and be attended to when budget and time allow.

Council will use funds from external programs to undertake complementary works including –

• Restoration works from the February 2020 flood have been completed with a price tag of $9m.
• The $7m restoration works from the March 2021 flood were completed by the end of June 2023, with associated betterment works due for completion by September 2023.
• Works from the November 2021 event are also due for completion by the end of December 2023 at a cost of $3.3m.
• Approvals for the restoration works associated with flood events from February through to May 2022 are now finalised, with a total estimated value of $32.6m, of which $10.5m has already been completed. These works are expected to be completed by end of June 2024.
• Repairs to sealed roads in the Killarney and Stanthorpe areas commenced in May 2023.
• In addition to the pavement repairs, Council will be completing the restoration program on the unsealed road network by July 2023, after which normal maintenance programs will resume.
• There’s also a number of structures scheduled for repair, replacement or upgrade, depending on the funding allocation. These sites include Merivale Street, Glen Niven Road, Goldfields Road, Talgai West Road, Kital Road, Cosmo Lane and Lyndhurst Lane.
• Council has three other funding submissions for upgrade works under review with the Queensland Reconstruction Authority

This article appeared in the Allora Advertiser, 12 July 2023.