Burnett, Gympie residents mock council over infamous pothole birthday

Frustrated Goomeri residents decorated a huge pothole with balloons and a large birthday card to mark a grim milestone, while it remains unclear when it will be fixed.

The gaping hole on Maudsley Street, Goomeri is closed off to vehicles and was decorated with decorated with birthday balloons and a large birthday card.

A Goomeri pothole was decorated with happy birthday balloons this week as residents renewed pleas for road works.

Residents have criticised South Burnett and Gympie regional councils after marking one year since a massive pothole caused the closure of part of Maudsley St.

Dianne Howley posted to social media a photo with a message, “Happy 1st birthday to Goomeri’s pothole”.

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Another resident commented that the “massive pothole” should have been fixed long ago.

Goomeri truck stop worker Melissa Peck said because of the pothole for 12 months she has had to drive the long way to work.

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Potholes are a frequent topic of discussion among residents of the South Burnett and Gympie regions, with the Nanango region being declared the most fatal roads in Queensland, it is cause for serious concern.

Potholes are a frequent topic of discussion among South Burnett and Gympie region residents and with the Nanango region being declared among the most fatal roads in Queensland, it is cause for serious concern.

South Burnett resident Adrienne Moss said ratepayer funds should be better spent on fixing roads.

“Instead road damaged signs get put up which don’t fix the road,” Ms Moss said.

Nanango resident Amanda Johnson said loose rocks were also an issue, causing multiple windscreen cracks.

“I’ve never been anywhere with the amount of loose road surface,” Ms Johnson said.

Gympie Regional Council Senior Communications Officer Morgan Ahern said they acknowledge the issue on Maudsley Street and are also aware of the protracted timeframe it has taken to rectify.

“Council has lodged a submission with the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) seeking funding for a betterment project at Maudsley St, Goomeri,” Ms Ahern said.

“The scope of project is to reconstruct Maudsley St to a standard that will improve its resilience to future flooding events, council staff are currently working on the detailed design of this project whilst QRA assess the betterment submission.

“Once Council receives confirmation of the betterment funding, the works will be programmed for construction, the intent is to have the road operational for the 2023 Goomeri Pumpkin Festival, with completion following soon after,” she said.

A South Burnett Regional Council spokeswoman said the council would continue to prioritise its response to road maintenance, subject to available budget and resources.

“Potholes are repaired as part of a proactive forward monthly program which also allows for resources to be tasked as required to urgent reactive works if assessed and requested,” she said.

“Unfortunately, it is impossible to remove all defects from a road network and council’s maintenance budget is limited to available funding for services and like many councils in Queensland, our area suffered the impacts of multiple declared weather events.

“Council has undertaken approximately $3.7m in emergency repairs on its network and has completed almost $11m in reconstruction of its network as a result of weather impacts, we continue to work in partnership with the Queensland Reconstruction Authority to assess and program the remaining repairs of its network.”