June 12, 2013
Mondure-Wheatlands Road – a key school bus route and access road for rural producers – will be upgraded as part of the State Government’s push to make flood-ravaged communities more resilient.
Community Recovery and Resilience Minister David Crisafulli announced in Kingaroy today that the road, damaged twice in two years by floods, would be the first of several “betterment” projects for the region.
“In the past, the guidelines for replacing infrastructure have been so rigid and bureaucratic that councils were only allowed to rebuild structures to the same standard in the same location,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“What the betterment project does is enable local communities to put forward a solution that might cost a little more up front but will save us all paying for damage over and over again.
“Country roads are the lifeblood of rural communities and it’s vital we do everything we can to keep these access roads open during natural disasters.
“Not only will this save parents from taking a 10km detour just to get their kids to the bus stop, it will keep the freight route open so farmers on about 40 properties can get their livestock and produce to market.
“It will ease the financial hardship on farms in the Mondure district that are feeling the strain from repeatedly being cut off.”
South Burnett Regional Council will receive $181,926 in “betterment” funding to build reinforced concrete pavements and protective concrete aprons at two locations along Mondure-Wheatlands Road.
The $80 million ‘]”betterment” program, a joint State/Federal Government initiative to give councils the chance to rebuild less damage-prone public infrastructure.
- Related article: $80m Fund Opens For Councils
