{"id":258646,"date":"2020-05-27T18:30:36","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T08:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=258646"},"modified":"2020-07-10T15:29:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-10T05:29:00","slug":"council-seeks-90000-for-bridges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/05\/27\/council-seeks-90000-for-bridges\/","title":{"rendered":"Council Seeks $90,000 For Bridges"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
The Kelvyn T. Peters Bridge near Kingaroy is one of two bridges the SBRC will seek Federal funding to repair<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

May 27, 2020 <\/strong><\/p>\n

South Burnett Regional Council will upgrade two bridges if it can get half the cost of the upgrades paid for by the Federal Government.<\/p>\n

At May’s Council meeting, councillors heard the Kelvyn T. Peters bridge on Kingaroy’s River Road needs maintenance, and a bridge on Home Creek Loop Road near Wilkesdale is currently closed for safety reasons.<\/p>\n

Mayor Brett Otto said the Peters bridge needs an estimated $80,000 of maintenance work.<\/p>\n

Most of this would be spent fixing the bridge’s guard rails.<\/p>\n

The bridge on Home Creek Loop Road, however, was closed last August when Council inspectors found structural defects that affected its load-bearing capacity.<\/p>\n

Officers recommended that rather than try to replace this bridge with a modern equivalent – which would cost an estimated $150,000 – Council should install a low-level floodway for $100,000 instead.<\/p>\n

Officers also recommended Council submit both projects to Round 5 of the Federal Government’s Bridge Renewal Program.<\/p>\n

This program would provide 50\/50 funding if the application was successful, saving ratepayers $90,000.<\/p>\n

Cr Kirstie Schumacher said she supported the proposal but questioned what would happen to Home Creek Loop Road residents if a flood occurred.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Infrastructure General Manager Aaron Meehan said because Home Creek Loop Road was a true loop with both ends accessible from the Chinchilla-Wondai Road, no residents would have their access blocked if flooding occurred.<\/p>\n

He said Council had written to Home Creek Loop Road residents last year when the bridge was closed and had received no objections.<\/p>\n

Cr Scott Henschen said he knew many residents who lived on Home Creek Loop Road, and agreed with Mr Meehan.<\/p>\n

“I think residents would welcome anything that happened here,” he said.<\/p>\n

Councillors agreed to submit both bridges to the Bridge Renewal Program before the round closed.<\/p>\n