Southern Downs roads to receive $2.4M in upgrades

Find out which flood-damaged spots will be repaired under the new funding.

ROUGH ROADS: The $852,000 in new funding will see the SDRC upgrade flood-damaged roads. Picture: file

SOUTHERN Downs roads will receive some of the upgrades residents have been waiting for, with council to receive more than $2.4 million for new projects.

The funding comes under the Queensland Reconstruction Authority’s Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangement to repair vital public infrastructure damaged in the February floods.

SDRC director for infrastructure services Seren McKenzie said this first million-dollar package would be funneled entirely into upgrades throughout the Greymare area.

She said the first $852,000 instalment was already in use.

“Greymare was the worst-hit area, so we’ve had to bring in a lot of gravel to replace everything that was completely washed away,” Ms McKenzie said.

“Works have been underway there for a while, and we’re probably looking at another eight weeks, weather permitting.

“The repairs have been well-received by the community, and we’re very grateful for residents’ patience throughout this process.”

SDRC is now negotiating with the QRA for additional grants to tackle repairs in other flood-affected parts of the region.

If approved, Ms McKenzie said roads through Leyburn and Karara would be the focus.

“These next two applications only went in last week, so we’ll probably find out next month whether we have approval for those,” she said.

“It won’t be nearly that same amount though, because we won’t be bringing the gravel in, and it won’t be taking the same amount of time either.”

Several Southern Downs councillors endorsed the funding when it was discussed at the ordinary meeting last week.

Councillors Stephen Tancred and Cynthia McDonald advocated for allocating the first package to the flood-devastated Greymare area.

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