Infrastructure

A History of the Castlemaine to Maryborough Railway  is a recently published book written by Ken James and David Langley. At 428 pages, it’s a doorstopper of a book that is painstakingly researched, well-illustrated and comprehensive in its scope. For railway tragics and history buffs, it’s a must-buy; and for others, it’s a cracking good read.

China Gibson. The 2022 flood will be the new 100-year flood level in the Edward at Moulamein. The old record was 6.094m. I think we got to 6.235m ... When you start to open banks, block banks or leave banks that stop water flow, it always affects someone else. That is the way floods are. The old saying has always been, “Fires unite, floods divide.” Pretty close to the truth ... Before all this flood stuff got real, I noticed that some of our frogs had laid their eggs in some wheel tracks that had water in them ...

Janelle Saffin. Jamie Simmonds, the man who directed the relocation of the town of Grantham, shared his story with Lismore when Janelle Saffin MP hosted him during a visit ... Ms Saffin said it was a great opportunity for locals like South Lismore’s Harper Dalton, who established the Relocate Lismore Homes Facebook group, to link with a planning and development expert who nowadays advises disaster-affected communities globally on managed retreat.

Long-time Weipa firefighter Tony Lankester says he’s excited about the prospect of a new station for the local fire brigade after years of lobbying for better facilities in the region. In an early Christmas present, it was announced last week that more than half a million dollars would be spent on building the new headquarters for the Western Cape Rural Fire Brigade.

If you understand the difference between 5G low and high band, fixed wireless, repeaters and extenders, then you don’t have to read this. While the tech savvy know their way around digital connectivity, the vast majority of us are staggering around in the dark when it comes to getting information on how to get a couple of extra signal bars on our mobile phones or stop the download lag on our broadband.

With the cost of repairing Australia’s flood and rain damaged roads expected to top $3.8 billion, the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has joined with the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) to call for an urgent rethink of road construction, maintenance and funding. Speaking of behalf of Australia’s 537 councils, ALGA President Linda Scott said rebuilding these roads to current standards would only cost Australian communities more in the long term.

Maldon's Public Pool opened last Saturday, attracting a good number of people for a much-anticipated cool-off. Squeals and shrieks broke the silence as the pool officially entered its summer season and swimmers said goodbye to the cold weather.

New forecasting showing record Australian grain production numbers – despite impacts of severe weather and flooding during a delayed and disrupted harvest – makes good news for today’s papers. However, Grain Producers Australia says the headline numbers mask some serious structural issues faced by growers on the ground, which impact productivity and need to be urgently addressed.

Truck companies are up in arms following a shock decision by the Department of Transport and Main Roads to put restrictions on the PDR after just a few days of December rain. On Friday morning, no trucks were allowed to travel on the Peninsula Developmental Road without a permit.

The Glenreagh Bridge is back to its former glory following the completion of painting on the 104-year-old structure. Clarence Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis said the steel truss bridge was built at the end of World War I and is unusual for a bridge of its time.

Emma Pritchard. Following a hard-fought campaign which stretched across five-and-a-half years and included a petition with over 11000 signatures, overwhelming community support, and plenty of lobbying by Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis, members of the Iluka Ambulance Action Group and Iluka Bowling Club proudly stood alongside Clarence Valley residents and visiting dignitaries on November 26 to celebrate a significant milestone.

The Southern Downs Regional Council has been working on flood disaster recovery since March 2020. In addition to the normal Council works budget, more than $16 million has been spent on the flood repair program to date and a large portion of the works now expected to reach completion by June 2024.

The Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation and Transport for NSW with seven Northern Rivers councils are undertaking a whole of network road condition assessment across all sealed roads in the Kyogle, Richmond Valley, Clarence Valley, Lismore, Ballina, Byron Bay and Tweed LGAs.

The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has opened 83km of upgraded Inland Rail track between Moree and Narrabri, with the first grain train set to run in the coming days. With trains now running on this section of track for the first time in seven months, ARTC is urging people travelling on roads between Narrabri and Moree to take extra care near the rail line and at all level crossings.

Lockhart River mayor Wayne Butcher has praised his council’s team after it successfully built and sealed a new road using a local workforce. “For the first time in history, Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council has built a road from scratch to bitumen,” he said.

If you love the view from the top of your farm looking out over the surrounding countryside, then let’s hope you are not near the coast or major power lines or in a windy part of Western Australia because the state and federal governments and the men and women with white shoes are quietly pouring over maps looking for sites that will become tomorrow’s wind farms.

The McGowan Government is taking the next significant step towards achieving its target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions after announcing Water Corporation has secured the development rights of what will be one of Western Australia's largest renewable wind energy projects ... In a move that will significantly reduce its emissions, Water Corporation today announced it had secured development rights for the Flat Rocks Wind Farm Stage 2 from WA-owned Moonies Hill Energy.

Queensland will be home to one of the largest onshore wind projects in the world, after global energy giant ACCIONA Energia, announced the development of a new $2 billion wind project. The new 1,000MW Herries Range Wind Farm will be built within the MacIntyre Wind Precinct, west of Warwick, bringing the precinct value to $4 billion, and the total amount of renewable energy to 2,000 MW – enough to power 1.4 million Queensland homes.

The scale of the damage to Gooramadda, Indigo Creek and Bells Flat Roads means that we’re still assessing the best way to restore access: Within the 24 hours of Monday 14 November and Tuesday 15 November, what initially appeared as a small sink hole on Gooramadda Road, Rutherglen has now totally eroded a large section of road.

On any given day, the streets of Moulamein would see the odd fisherman or ute laden with dogs trundling by, but not last week. Moulamein was the highway of detour distress ... From road trains to hot rods, race cars to caravans, Moulamein exploded with Sturt Highway traffic desperately trying to find their way without the traditional Sydney to Adelaide route.