June 15, 2017
The South Burnett Regional Council has introduced automation into the process of assessing the condition of the region’s rural roads.
The council recently purchased a Road Asset Condition Assessment System.
The new piece of equipment is able to scan each road, rate its condition, and take high-definition photos that plot damaged sections with a GPS tracker.
Roads portfolio chair Cr Spud Jones said he believed the new system would help speed up road repairs.
The system would save maintenance crews time because they would know the precise location of each damaged road section.
The device can also independently gauge the roughness and corrugation of a road, ensuring that all damage was assessed to the same standard.
And it could do these tasks much faster than manual assessments, which is the process the Council has been using to date.
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The Council is currently working on the following road projects:
- A continuation of seal widening along Franks Road, Blackbutt
- Sealed road reconstruction of a section of Mt Stanley Road between East Nanango and East Nanango-Grindstone roads
- Shoulder upgrades along Ellesmere Road, Ellesmere
- Sealed road reconstruction and gravel resheeting along Ironpot Road at Ironpot
- Footpath construction in Ivy Street, Kingaroy
- Shared bike path construction along Alford Street, Kingaroy
- Intersection improvements on the Bunya Highway at Taylor and Meiers Roads
- Sealed road reconstruction on sections of Silverleaf Road at Byee
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Four coin-operated standpipes at Nanango, Blackbutt and Benarkin are currently out of action due to a spate of thefts and vandalism which have rendered them beyond repair.
The Council will now have to purchase new units, but they will not be available until the end of July.
The new units will be card operated to eliminate future theft attempts.
Cr Roz Frohloff told Wednesday’s Council meeting the standpipes provide potable water to property owners who aren’t connected to a water supply system, and it was an important service.
“Unfortunately, until the new units are available, community members who do the right thing are being disadvantaged because they now have to drive to other towns to access water,” Cr Frohloff said.
“It is very frustrating to have the destructive actions of a few destroy this valued service.
“I’d like to encourage anyone in the community who sees someone doing the wrong thing at these standpipes to report it to the local police so that we can stop this from happening again.”
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Work on upgrading Kingaroy Town Hall’s Reception Room and the Kingaroy Town Common Hall has begun.
The Reception Room’s leaking, rusted roof will be replaced and a new air conditioning system with climate control will be installed.
Works is expected to be completed by the end of June.
Meanwhile, the interior and exterior of the Kingaroy Town Common Hall are being repainted.
Cracks on internal wall plaster caused by building subsidence will be repaired as part of the upgrade.
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The Council’s attention to workplace health and safety issues has saved ratepayers money on insurance, Cr Ros Heit said on Wednesday.
Local Government Workcover recently provided a report that showed the SBRC’s ranking amongst the 67 councils participating in the Workcover scheme.
The South Burnett currently ranks 15 of 67, and also ranks 5 out of 15 councils with similar wage costs.
Cr Heit said the higher the ranking, the lower the insurance cost.
There is a $200,000 annual difference between the highest and lowest ranked.
