November 3, 2021
Every Kingaroy resident has probably been told at some time not to complain as the pig trucks that trundle through town are the “smell of money”.
While this is true, the amount of heavy vehicle traffic passing through Kingaroy has also been raised as an issue in South Burnett Regional Council’s 2021-22 Operational Plan.
Council now plans to hold a workshop soon to work out the best ways to divert heavy vehicle traffic away from Kingaroy’s CBD.
At the moment, trucks heading to Bega’s PCA facility or Swickers – from either the Bunya or D’Aguilar highways – are travelling via Somerset and Alford Street East into Jarrah Street before turning into Haly Street.
This circuitous southern route is being used because of disruptions to CBD traffic caused by the Kingaroy Transformation Project.
Other trucks are accessing Swickers via Harris Road and Clark and Swendson Road.
However, Council officers told Wednesday’s Infrastructure Standing Committee meeting these were not the most efficient routes, particularly for Swickers which has a “reasonable amount” of traffic coming in from the north.
Some Council infrastructure, such as the intersections between the Council and State roads, was not large enough to accommodate turns by large truck and trailer combinations, particularly in regards to the safety of other road users.
Councillors were told residential traffic waiting to do a turn potentially had B-Doubles “coming across their noses” and had to manoeuvre to get out of the way, especially of the second trailer.
Council is looking to work with the Department of Transport and Main Roads to identify different ways vehicles can get off the State roads network to get on to local roads.
Mayor Brett Otto, Deputy Mayor Gavin Jones and CEO Mark Pitt met recently with the Director General of Transport and Main Roads, Neil Scales, to discuss the issue of heavy vehicle movements around the Kingaroy CBD.
On October 23, Mr Pitt invited the District Director of Transport and Main Roads to attend a meeting to discuss future planning for the management of heavy/combination vehicles. Dates for this meeting are being finalised.
Council officers have also been organising discussions between industry, operators and road managers to understand heavy vehicle requirements in the local area.
Mayor Otto stressed that local residents also had to be involved in these discussions.
Cr Kirstie Schumacher asked that the workshop also consider the issue of road trains and their permitted routes in the South Burnett.
