December 18, 2012
South Burnett residents should receive an early Christmas present with two lanes on the Blackbutt Range due to re-open by the end of the week.
But the good news still has the proviso “weather permitting”.
Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington said a major project milestone would be reached in the coming days with the road surface nearly finished.
“Regular users have watched this massive project being carried out since the Blackbutt Range was severely impacted by landslip damage almost two years ago,” Ms Frecklington said.
“It has been a huge engineering task to rebuild the highway, as evidenced by the changing landscape through the range as works have progressed.
“The weather has also been challenging and has impacted the project timeframes, particularly during the first half of 2012.
“On completion, it is estimated the project will have involved about 500,000 cubic metres of excavation works – the equivalent of 200 Olympic swimming pools.
“The project also involved 36,000 cubic metres of embankment works, 6200 cubic metres of shotcrete, 9km of soil nails, and almost 10,750 tonnes of asphalt.”
Ms Frecklington said although the roadway was finished, there were still works required on the embankments through the range.
“There will be slope stabilisation works continuing into the first quarter of 2013. These works may require occasional lane closures,” Ms Frecklington said.
“We acknowledge motorists were extremely patient during the long-term lane closures that were previously in place and we ask for continued cooperation during any future single lane closures.”
The reconstruction of the Blackbutt Range is being delivered under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements, a joint Federal and State government initiative.
Under these arrangements, the Federal Government provides 75 per cent of the funding, with 25 per cent from the State Government.
Further information about the Blackbutt Range project can be found online.
Road users can also register online to receive free SMS updates.
