Killarney’s Condamine River Rd costing residents as Southern Downs Regional Council called on to act

The state of Killarney’s Condamine River Rd, and the crossings that run through it, has been slammed by residents who have raised fears over the danger the roads pose.

More giant potholes line the single lane of Spring Creek Rd, damaging vehicles and posing a danger to the 50-60m drop to the river below.

Killarney residents living along Condamine River Rd have raised fears of the environmental and accessibility impacts of controversial bed-level crossing works, which have officially begun.

Southern Downs Regional Council have completed plans for an initial total of four concrete bed-level crossings to be constructed at Long, Black Fellows Gully, Mill and Second crossings.

The plans, which have been in the works since early 2021, have been approved by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry but since work began in June, Killarney community member Barbara George said there had been a noticeable change in the habitat surrounding the crossings.

“We always knew that construction would have a fair price on the environment because you get all of this sediment while they’re digging out and our river ran brown for at least a day,” Mrs George said.

Sandbags were placed along the crossings to divert the water flow, to allow the beds to dry while construction was underway. However, the concrete slabs have been poured over the top of them, leaving remnants from the bags to float down the river.

Plastic sandbags along the crossing which have now been concreted over. Photo: Barbara George

Communication from council to the community as to the process and expected time limits of construction has allegedly been few and far between, with the community reportedly advised of the upcoming changes via a letter in the mail and relying on updates to the council website.

“They (SDRC) have never really explained to us the processes or what they’re going to look like, or how you’re really going to get to your place,” Mrs George said.

“There are some sections of the road at the head that have been washed away and are very dangerous, that have just been cordoned off and never fixed.”

Debris can be seen floating down the river as the sandbags start to decay, buried under the cement slab of the newly constructed bed crossing. Photo: Barbara George

For Brian Thomas, who's located right in the middle of Condamine Gorge, the state of Condamine River Rd, its crossings and Spring Creek Rd have all but been in tatters throughout the past three floods and were only getting worse.

“I now have to travel east along Condamine River Rd towards Spring Creek Rd to get to Killarney for work,” Mr Thomas said.

“It once took me 15 minutes to get into work and now it takes me an hour and 20 minutes. I’ve just started sleeping in my office at Killarney.”

Despite many landholders and community members reaching out to advocate their concerns about the state of these roads, Mr Thomas said council had made no effort to fix or even take a look at the roads in their current state, leaving them feeling very disappointed.

“Fix my bloody road up,” he said.

Giant pothole along the steep decent of Condamine River Road. Photo: Brian Thomas

Clarification was sought from council as to their earlier media release that aimed to address community concerns at this morning’s media conference, with mayor Vic Pennisi assuring that council was inclusive of the Killarney and surrounding community in the planning stages of these upgrades.

“This project has been bubbling along for a long time and there was a lot of (community) engagement and consultation leading up to where we are now,” Mr Pennisi said.

“I’m sure that they were very familiar with what the process was going to be.”

More dangerous potholes line the inside just passed the eastern grid at the start of the Gorge.

Mr Pennisi said that the purpose of a bed-level crossings was to not exceed the height of the top of the riverbed and the flow of water in the river would ultimately determine where the water would sit.

“While there’s water in the river, there will be water over the crossing and when there’s no water in the river, there will be no water in the crossing,” he said.

As for any environmental concerns held by the community, Mr Pennisi said that responsibility fell on the contractor, who was subject to following the relevant construction and environmental regulations to ensure any issues didn’t arise from the works in the future.

“Given that they do these regularly, I’m sure they would be following the regulations.”

Mr Pennisi said any future works to the road will be conducted in accordance with SDRC’s asset management plan, road management standards and the Condamine River Rd temporary road closure procedures.

“Council has committed to undertake a road safety review and quotes are being sought for this review,” he said.

“We anticipate this review will be completed once the road is open to traffic.”

Originally published as Killarney’s Condamine River Rd costing residents as Southern Downs Regional Council called on to act