Southside roads get upgrade ahead of next major Gympie flood

Several roads at the Southside are getting an overhaul as part of a multimillion-dollar flood resilience package which will keep Gympie connected for longer in the next major flood.

Recovery and resilience work in the aftermath of the 2022 floods is continuing, with part of the Southside road network being improved to help the region stay connected during the next major disaster.

Gympie’s ability to weather its next flood is being given a boost with upgrades to the Southside road network on the way as part of a wider $75m federal government spend.

The package, which is part of the soon-to-be-replaced Emergency Response Fund, was revealed in a press release by the state government on Thursday.

The Southside works will include widening a 200m-long stretch of Copp Rd, Pritchard Rd, and Smerdon Rd, while improving the design of the road.

This would open up a new transport option for residents should nearby Power Rd, or Exhibition Rd, be cut by floodwaters.

The funding amount for this project was not disclosed in the media release.

A 220m section of road stretching across Copp Rd, Pritchard Rd, and Smerdon Rd is being upgraded to help the region stay connected during the next major flood event.

It was one of six flood resilience projects across the state to be funded by the package, with the headline act being a 1.7km flood levee at East Bundaberg to be built adjacent to the Burnett River.

The total price of the project at the Rum City was more than $174m.

Other funding from the federal and state governments was already committed to the project.

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The replacement of the Price Creek Bridge at the Scenic Rim, fixing of the Easey St Drain at Warwick, and a new culvert at Pert St, Toowoomba were also part of the funding package.

From July 1 the ERF is being replaced by the Disaster Ready Fund, under which 187 projects have already received funding.

Federal Emergency Minister Murray Watt said the flood resilience upgrades will be a boon not only for the region’s, but their residents’ wallets too.

“We know that every dollar spent on disaster resilience and mitigation delivers a return on investment to governments and households nine times over, while also putting downward pressure on insurance premiums,” Mr Watt said.