Round Hill Creek fix could cost up to $50m

FIXING the dangerously shallow Round Hill Creek channel could cost more than $20 million, after a report found sand levelling would have "limited success".

SHALLOW CHANNEL: There are access issues which need to be fixed at Round Hill Creek. Picture: Aerial Media Gladstone

FIXING the dangerously shallow Round Hill Creek channel could cost more than $20 million, after a report found sand levelling would have "limited success".

A technical review by BMT WBM for Gladstone Regional Council warned against sand sweeping the channel, which it estimated would cost between $526,000 and $1.5 million.

It said any sand swept upstream into the deeper channel area would return to the shoal and the proposed swept channel.

With $22,000 spent of the $100,000 allocated to a feasibility study into a fix for the creek, the council will spend what is left on a new concept design for a long-term solution.

The report, presented at this week's council meeting, found an alternative channel close to the headland may have more success long-term.

It said another option would be to build a rock wall, but that would require extensive students and would likely cost between $20 - 50 million.

The council plans to use the report to lobby for state and federal government funding to fix the channel, which has gradually built up with sand in the past three years.

The issue is a safety concern for Volunteer Marine Rescue Seventeen Seventy and commercial and recreational vessels.