Roads

Tonight’s ‘cost of living’ budget is a missed opportunity to address food price inflation, according to Australia’s peak farm body. National Farmers’ Federation President, Fiona Simson, said the budget does nothing to get to the heart of rampant food price inflation – which NFF polling shows is weighing on the minds of 8 in 10 Australians.

The federal budget has delivered a mixed result for rural Australia, with GrainGrowers expressing disappointment and calling for additional work in a number of areas ... While welcoming the steadfast commitment to maintaining Fuel Tax Credits and the extra attention to childcare, GrainGrowers said the government had missed a range of valuable investment opportunities for grain growers.

Kermadec Petrel to call LHI home once again, thanks to new project funding - Road upgrade - Project and funding updates - Welcome to the new Ranger, Thomas Nixon

The New England Highway at Cambooya was the scene for a non-fatal two truck collision at 5.38am on Friday as a south-bound vehicle collided with a north-bound vehicle on the sweeping bend where the highway joins with the Greenmount Etonvale road.

The newly-formed Rural Road Alliance is calling for an emergency funding package totalling nearly $5.5 billion in the upcoming Federal Budget. The alliance ... been formed in response to the critical challenges facing Australia’s rural road network in the wake of recent flooding and high rainfall.

The 22 kilometres of unsealed road that joins the two largest centres in the Murray River Council footprint will receive some much-needed maintenance through a recent $5.5 million investment in the Murray electorate from the NSW Government’s Fixing Local Roads program. The Perricoota Road will receive $1,398,477 for gravel resheeting.

Councillor Danielle Mulholland’s report on her meeting with Deputy Premier Paul Toole was followed by a stir among some councillors at the Kyogle Council meeting ... She listed the issues discussed at the meeting with Mr Toole. The most contentious one was the raising of the Toonumbar Dam wall.

A re-elected Liberal and Nationals Government will invest $1 billion in the regions to upgrade the roads communities use every day, fast-track freight and rebuild transport infrastructure after disaster ... “We want a road and rail network built for the long-term with the capacity and strength to survive fire and floods, to meet the growing freight task and to get product to market cheaper and more efficiently": Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole.

Moyne Shire Council has launched a new roads portal to give the community quick access to information about council’s road network and planned upgrade works across the shire. The portal includes a map pinpointing road renewal and resealing works, before and after photos, expected timeframes and information about how the works are funded.

Sections of the highway around Fitzroy Crossing were completely washed away in the recent one-in-100-year flood event, while the Fitzroy Crossing Bridge sustained significant damage and will need to be fully replaced. The plan will involve the implementation of a barge system across the river, which will initially be operated by tugs, with a cable system to be operationalised shortly after.

Farmers are frustrated by a stoush between state and federal governments that is holding up the construction of a vital freight link. On Tuesday Transport Minister Catherine King said the federal government would fund the start and end of the Great Western Highway upgrade, but there was “no money for the middle section” – a tunnel proposed by the state government.

The Newell Highway has reopened between Forbes and West Wyalong after flood waters and extensive damage forced a 49-day closure. Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway said it was a credit to the Transport for NSW crews who worked around the clock to have the highway open before Christmas for families looking forward to spending the festive season with loved ones.

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 ...

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.

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 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.

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.

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.