September 26, 2013
Work has begun to fix two frequently flood-damaged sections of River Road, with local companies and contractors getting a boost from the $500,000 project.
The two sections – at Kingaroy and Inverlaw – were severely damaged in 2011 and again in both January and March 2013.
The conventional bitumen sealed pavement was not able to withstand the battering from the flood waters and is now being replaced with reinforced concrete using $500,000 “betterment” funding from the State Government.
South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann and Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington inspected the works with contractors during one of the large concrete pours.
“It is great to see the progress on River Road and the work going into making it better able to withstand future floods,” Mrs Frecklington said.
Mayor Kratzmann said River Road was a major “collector” road linking Kingaroy with surrounding districts and carries commercial traffic transporting livestock and produce.
“It also provides access to the sewerage treatment plant and waste transfer station, both of which are vital to ensure public health following flood events,” he said.
“The improvements will reduce the cost of continual repairs and make sure that access is available for emergency services during and after extreme weather.
“It is also pleasing to see the spin-off for local employment and local suppliers as part of the massive program of flood restoration works.”
A small army of concrete workers from Civil Mining and Construction were on hand at the Inverlaw site to lay more than 180 cubic metres of concrete which was supplied from the local Hytech concrete batch plant.
“The opportunity for local companies to supply these projects is appreciated,” Hytech District Manager for the Darling Downs Simon Kentish said.
” I know that the suppliers of quarry material and local contractors have also been heavily involved in helping out with the flood works.”
CMC Project Manager Dale Martin confirmed that about 80 per cent of the construction team were locals. Of the 47 construction staff currently employed, 26 are local and another 12 are local sub-contractors.
“CMC’s approach is to provide the overall systems administration and engineering supervision and actively recruit local expertise and labour wherever possible,” he said.
The work on both sections of River Road is expected to be finished by mid-October.
