March 21, 2013
The South Burnett Regional Council estimates the Australia Day floods and two follow-up floods on February 25 and March 2 have caused between $45 million and $50 million damage to the region’s roads.
The Australia Day floods caused 90 per cent of the damage but the follow-up floods added a further $5 million to the bill, SBRC Roads portfolio leader Cr Damien Tessmann told yesterday’s council meeting.
The largest single item damaged in the floods was Moloney’s Bridge on Hodge’s Dip Road at Chahpingah. The estimated cost of replacing it with a single lane reinforced concrete bridge is $2.5 million.
“Other damage includes 40 recently repaired crossings, numerous culvert crossings, massive pavement scours and large damage to main roads,” he said.
Cr Tessmann said the majority of repair works started after the Australia Day floods were washed away by the later floods.
Repair works have started again but there are a number of roads that can’t be reached or still have water running over them.
Two other notable outcomes of the floods were the Wooroolin Wetlands overflow, which led to the SBRC digging a drainage canal to help lower the wetlands’ water levels, and the partial closure of the Stuart River Bridge after the Department Of Main Roads found it had sustained major structural damage.
The Council is still waiting for the Department to confirm when it will begin making repairs.
Cr Tessmann told the meeting staff were currently concentrating on “emergent works” to ensure all residents had access to their properties.
Full restoration work would not commence until all emergent tasks had been attended to.
Cr Tessmann expressed his appreciation for the hard work that Council’s infrastructure team have put in since the first flood, with many working very long hours to restore access for residents trapped by flood damage.
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