Three stars for Upper Yorke Road
Michelle Daw. Tens of millions of dollars will be spent upgrading Upper Yorke Road, following a determined five-year campaign by locals ... Member for Narungga Fraser Ellis hailed the announcement as a tremendous boost for YP’s road network.
Second bridge study traffic data flawed
Patricia Gill. A Shire of Denmark-commissioned trafï¬c and evacuation management study used flawed data to determine that a second bridge was not necessary to evacuate the town in an emergency. The Shire’s 2011 Local Planning Strategy had demonstrated the need for the second bridge but the matter was dropped in 2018 after the Shire commissioned consultants GHD to report on the matter. In 2019 the Shire gave away $4.291 million in Royalties for Regions to build a second bridge and got back $2.5 million to upgrade Greens Pool.
Roadworks, roadworks, roadworks
Local roads have been all Hi-Vis, traffic cone and red light, green light lately as crews work on numerous Council and state roads. Toowoomba Karara Road from Drayton through to Felton has been rife with works ... Much of the work around the district has been financed with the help of flood recovery funds.
$600K patch up
Michelle Daw. Three damaged sections of the Upper Yorke Road between Bute and Port Broughton will be patched, thanks to a $600,000 commitment by the state government ... Announcement of the patching works follows years of lobbying by council and Member for Narungga Fraser Ellis ... “I don’t mean to be ungrateful but it’s not enough to do a proper job,” Mr Ellis said.
Darling Downs roads most dangerous in Australia
With a fatality rate of 21.7 deaths per 100,000 residents the Darling Downs holds an unwanted record of being the most dangerous location for driving in Australia. The Downs holds this record with the Maranoa, New England and North West NSW.
Pothole plague spreads: funding fill must be found
The deplorable state of roads will be back on the agenda when State Parliament resumes in February. Nationals Member for Mildura, Jade Benham, said it was alarming the number of road warning and traffic hazard signs that had been situated on our roadsides for an extended period of time, without repairs being done.
Far North Queensland recovery works forge ahead: Mellish
Following a dedicated focus and significant effort from Department of Transport and Main Roads crews over the Christmas and New Year period, the Captain Cook Highway will reopen between Ellis Beach and Port Douglas ... Single lane closures however should be expected for an initial time period.
Road repair funding needs reviewing
Federal Member for Indi Helen Haines has backed recommendations for the federal government to review its funding to local government on road maintenance to improve rural roads following natural disasters.
Large tree crushes car with five people inside
In a sudden storm several trees fell down on the Summerland Way at Leeville at 1.30pm, Saturday December 16. Emergency services were called to reports of a crash on the roadway near Crawford Road.
Merivale Street to open soon
Work is nearing an end at the Merivale Street crossing on the western side of Allora. After being washed out by flooding the crossing will have a larger, more solid culvert.
Much ado about nothing, as it happens
The mooted Toowoomba North South Transport Corridor, first announced in July, has been scrapped by the Queensland Government following significant community backlash ... Under the proposed corridor, hundreds of properties would have been directly affected, including dozens at Westbrook, Wyreema and Vale View.
Highway works set to start
Even though additional funding for local road maintenance was welcomed last week by Member for Indi, Helen Haines, and she said it must be made available as a matter of urgency. A case in point is the Murray Valley Highway between Corryong and Wodonga where motorists continue to face delays at two locations near Old Tallangatta where traffic lights have been installed and one lane closed where subsidence has occurred.
Cuts threaten road safety
The State Government cut $230 million from road safety programs across the past two years. At the same time it failed on its own targets to fix the road network, a Parliamentary inquiry heard last week ... This comes as Victoria is facing another horror road toll, with road deaths already 20 per cent higher than last year.
Workshop on flood resilience and recovery
Cambooya Landcare will host a workshop dealing with flood resilience and recovery at the Felton Hall this Saturday, 25th November. Intense rainfall events can damage farm, road and other infrastructure and lead to severe soil loss, with long term consequences for pasture and crop production and the health of creek systems.
GrainGrowers welcomes significant boost to Roads to Recovery Program
GrainGrowers has welcomed the Federal Government's commitment to increase the Roads to Recovery funding program ... GrainGrowers CEO Shona Gawel said last year’s repeated flood events and persistent and unprecedented rainfall has deteriorated critical road infrastructure across Australia’s grain-growing regions and exacerbated systemic underfunding of the regional road network.
Funding boost paves way for better rural roads: NFF
The National Farmers’ Federation has welcomed news the Federal Government will double the Roads to Recovery funding program, providing a much needed shot in the arm to dilapidated regional roads ... NFF President David Jochinke said this increased funding would provide key resources to local government to maintain local road networks.
The Cobb Highway
All NSW State Highways are now sealed, the Mount Manara stretch of the Ivanhoe-Wilcannia section of the Cobb Highway having the honour of being the last section, and it may be that NSW is the first state to have all highways sealed. Hon. Jenny Aitchison, Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, in a refreshing move away from the usual speech, began by acknowledging the work of previous governments and all those involved in the long campaign ...
A year in review: What your council has done, how much it has spent and on what
Kyogle Council released its 2022/2023 Annual Report and it makes for interesting reading ... The numbers in the report tell a story about the council and the community it serves...
Street upgrade restarts
After a number of delays caused by bad weather and unforseen impediments, work re-commenced on the Corryong streetscape project yesterday ... "Our top priority is to ensure a seamless and organised site for the Christmas period": Vilfred Correa, project manager.
Our Q&A
The lack of a TAFE, children with special needs, the health bureaucracy, E-tag regulations, arts, rare earth mining, radiation therapy and plastics were among 16 questions asked at last week’s Country Cabinet forum in Naracoorte. During a two-day whirlwind visit SA Premier Peter Malinauskas, his ministers and all department chiefs collectively met with hundreds of people as they travelled to various special spots within our region.
Bailey provides answers on corridor
Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey has responded to questions asked by local Member for Condamine Pat Weir in Parliament regarding the Toowoomba North South Transport Corridor.
Welcome!
The big issues affecting the district will be spotlighted by the Naracoorte-Lucindale Council to the Premier and his ministers when the country cabinet visits the rural township this Thursday. Critical issues such as agriculture, education, roads, reliable high-speed connectivity, emergency health hub...
