Council crews well underway on road repairs

Lockyer Valley Regional Council’s infrastructure crews are making good progress on road repairs following Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Lockyer Valley Regional Council’s Infrastructure Portfolio Councillor, Michael Hagan said while Council was committed to restoring the full road network, crews were prioritising the worst defects throughout the region.

“There were 739 total defects from the March event and to date, more than 25 per cent of those have already been completed at a cost of more than $600,000.

“We know we still have a considerable amount of work to go, and it is definitely one of our highest priorities.

“Three crews are focused on emergent works, which involves a 90-day period from the date of the event and is all about restoring access and ensuring the road network is safe.

“The current estimate of flood damage to our road network is $5,000,000 which includes the Emergent Works and the Restoration of Essential Public Assets (REPA) estimate.

“We’re estimating that 25 per cent, which is 125 km of the region’s unsealed network has suffered some form of damage that will require repair, replacement of gravel or grading, and this is in addition to damage to sealed roads including potholes.

“We understand everyone would like their most-used road to be repaired first, however we need to attend to major road safety and access issues in order of priority.

“Like the community, we’d also like to do more permanent repairs from day one but unfortunately, State and Federal funding for disaster repairs don’t allow that and rather than burden our community with the extra cost, we need to follow the guidelines that are in place.

“We’re urging the community to please be patient, as there are many areas for crews to get to and it will take some time,” Cr Hagan said.

For more information, contact Council on 1300 005 872 or visit www.lockyervalley.qld.gov.au