Road Safety Minister Scott Buchholz checks flood-proofing work in NWQ

The all-driving tour prior to attending a road safety function in Townsville started in Karumba where Carpentaria Shire mayor Jack Bawden showed Mr Buchholz through the Barramundi Discovery Centre and impressed upon him the critical nature of roads for tourism and business in the Gulf.

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From there Mr Buchholz took the Gulf Development Road to Croydon, discussing infrastructure investments with Croydon Shire Council mayor Trevor Pickering before heading out on the 380km Richmond to Croydon Road.

There is still 230km of single lane unsealed gravel on the road that links beef producers to major freight routes on the Landsborough and Flinders Highways.

Under the last funding package completed in 2019, a total of 15km was sealed with $4m, $3.2m contributed by the federal government.

In Richmond, Mr Buchholz discussed the recent accreditation that allows Richmond, Carpentaria and Flinders Shires to tender for federal infrastructure works, and inspected progress on the $13m Richmond-Winton Road upgrade currently underway.

There was a long list of projects to check on in the Flinders Shire, including an upgrade to the Hughenden Driver Reviver rest stop on the Flinders Highway, which received funding of $57,295.85.

The new $6.7m Alderley Bridge on the Dalkeith Road north west of Hughenden, which replaces an old causeway that was severely damaged in the February 2019 monsoon, was another stopping place for Mr Buchholz.

The causeway was the only access point for locals and visitors to the Basalt Byway but has been susceptible to flooding, closing the road for up to 10 weeks every wet season.

The new bridge, which spans 150m and includes sealing the approaches, will make the road more resilient to future flood events and funding was split between the federal government supplying $4.05m and the state government putting up $2.65m.

In yet another Flinders Shire flood improvement project, Mr Buchholz also saw the result of the $1.2m Glentor Road crossing project.

Also known as the Flinders River Byway, it's a four-wheel-drive road that connects the Flinders Highway west of Prairie with the Kennedy Development Road north of Hughenden but because of the sandy Flinders River crossing, can be closed for three to four months a year.

After it was completed in December 2020, the road was accessible through the whole of the 2020/21 wet season, except for one week of peak flood levels.

According to Mr Buchholz, the project was highly appreciated by graziers who use the road on a regular basis to support their business and to access towns for schools, health facilities, mail and other essential services.

It was designed by the Flinders Shire Council team.

Because of the intensity of the water that flows through the crossing, the base of the floodway was excavated to an average depth of four metres and filled with rock sourced from a local quarry.

The federal government contributed $700,000 to the project, made up of $500,000 from the Roads to Recovery program and $200,000 from phase two of the Local Road and Community Infrastructure program.

Co-funding was received from the state government Transport Infrastructure Development Scheme.

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