Toowoomba Regional Council urges funding for Neil Street/Chalk Drive intersection flood mitigation after heavy rain

After parts of the Toowoomba CBD flooded following several days of heavy rain, calls have come to upgrade flood mitigation at a key intersection.

Cars are seen submerged in East Creek between Ruthven Street and Chalk Drive, Toowoomba flood, 2011. Photo Kevin Farmer / The Chronicle

The Toowoomba Regional Council has again urged the State and Federal Governments to fund $20m in extra flood mitigation for the CBD, following last weekend’s heavy rain events.

Infrastructure chair Councillor Carol Taylor said extra funding would be needed to upgrade the Neil Street/Chalk Drive culverts, which were identified as an issue back in 2013.

It comes after parts of the Toowoomba CBD were flooded after hundreds of millimetres of rain dropped on the city between Thursday and Sunday, including the intersection of Russell and Victoria Streets.

While Ms Taylor stopped short of saying the upgrade would prevent that intersection flooding, she said further flood mitigation would better protect the city during severe rain events.

“Friday’s heavy rain was generally contained within the East Creek channel,” she said.

“Given the saturated ground, more intense and/or prolonged rain could force water over Neil Street.

“The Neil Street culvert upgrade will continue to build on council’s existing flood mitigation program and substantially improve infrastructure resilience, community safety and connectivity in this part of the Toowoomba CBD.

“The flood mitigation benefits of replacing and upgrading the existing Neil Street box culverts can be seen in the many projects that have been completed both upstream and downstream along East Creek and in West Creek.”

Hundreds of insurance claims have been lodged by residents and businesses across the Toowoomba CBD due to the flooding.