March 3, 2021
The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail will get an upgrade and some key bridges in the Gympie region will be replaced, thanks to the latest round of Federal Government bushfire recovery funding.
Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud announced on Wednesday that 21 projects would be funded in the final round of the $36.8 million Local Economic Recovery Program.
Three local councils will receive funding for projects:
- Toowoomba Regional Council will receive $222,000 to engage a community resilience and development officer and $240,000 to upgrade infrastructure along the Yarraman to Nukku section of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail.
- Somerset Regional Council will receive $400,000 to engage a recovery officer to support local businesses and tourism operators and $1.3 million to engage up to 44 local community members to undertake a series of bushfire resilience deployments.
- Gympie Regional Council will receive $585,000 for a bridge replacement on Ryan Road; $630,000 for a bridge replacement on Glastonbury Creek Road; and $837,000 for a bridge replacement on Widgee Crossing Road.
“A number of Queensland communities were severely impacted by the 2019 bushfires and that was compounded even further by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mr Littleproud said.
“The tourism, agricultural and small business sectors have not only had to respond to the bushfires and COVID-19, but many have battled drought over a long period of time as well.”
Other councils to receive support include Bundaberg, Gladstone, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley and the Scenic Rim.
