South Burnett Regional Council has gained $340,000 in State Government funding to put towards replacing the dangerous Alford Street culvert in Kingaroy.
The total cost has been estimated at $800,000 however Council had already set aside $400,000 in its last Budget for the project.
The funding, approved on Friday by Deputy Premier Jackie Trad, will come from the State Government’s 2015-16 Community Resilience Fund.
This fund aims to support projects that will help to protect communities from the devastating consequences of natural disasters.
The Kingaroy project is one of 48 disaster mitigation and resilience projects to receive grants totalling about $30 million from the State Government.
“The grants will give 30 councils much needed funds to deliver essential disaster mitigation infrastructure and reduce their community’s vulnerability to natural disasters,” Ms Trad said.
Other projects include:
- Upgrade disaster accommodation in North Burnett region
- Flood levee and draining channel works in the Lockyer Valley
- Upgrading fire trail networks and bushfire infrastructure in South-East Queensland
“These grants will also deliver solid infrastructure and plans to minimise expenditure on damaged assets in the wake of a disaster,” Ms Trad said.
The Alford Street culvert, which is located near Kingaroy State School and Memorial Park, has been a headache for the South Burnett Regional Council for many years.
Not only does it flood but because of its position, it also attracts children who play in it.
Pedestrians also often dodge traffic while crossing it.
Mayor Wayne Kratzmann said Council had been trying to get funding to replace the culvert for some time.
Moves to halt the quite dramatic run-off that occurs with this drain goes back for more than 40 years.
One can recall an evening in the 1970s when at around midnight I received a call from the late Sandy McGruer, who was manager of Kingaroy Woolworths then situated at the corner of Kingaroy and Alford streets, that I should get down quickly to a dramatic scene that was occurring in this culvert following heavy torrential rain which caused the dairy cheese factory dam to burst its banks and flood across Bell Street. Four people who were just leaving from a card party and unaware of the situation had their vehicles swept off the street and sent soaring down the culvert.
While standing on top of the culvert bridge amid heavy rain with a spectator holding an umbrella I saw a person being swept under the bridge. Amid some yells, ambulance officer Merv Lucas grabbed a rope and raced down through Memorial Park, tied the rope to a tree and waited for the person to arrive amid swirling dirty red soil waters. Merv rescued his man who was not seriously injured. He was later awarded a Queen’s Birthday Medal for his effort.
As the Courier-Mail’s South Burnett correspondent during this period, the photo and story was published on Page 1. For my contribution I received a line-by-line payment of some $3 plus a similar amount for the photo. Naturally, I felt that was a little unfair so in registering my complaint along came a cheque of $180. Both the Courier Mail and Sunday Mail plus ABC Toowoomba during a period of 12 years always respected my contributions as correspondent for the South Burnett. [UPDATED]