Council welcomes $2m funds for three key projects
Published on 23 November 2016
Rockhampton Regional Council has welcomed more than $2m in funding for three key projects.
Minister for Justice Michael Keenan and Queensland Assistant Minister for Local Government and Infrastructure Glenn Butcher today announced Natural Disaster Resilience Program funding of $1.77m for upgrades to Stanwell - Waroula Road and Nine Mile Road.
Mr Butcher also announced $348,000 funding for the Mount Morgan Streetscape Redevelopment project.
Rockhampton Regional Council Acting Mayor Cherie Rutherford thanked Rockhampton MP Bill Byrne and his Mirani counterpart Jim Pearce for helping to secure the support.
Cr Rutherford said the projects would all help take the Region forward in their own way.
She said the Mount Morgan Streetscape Redevelopment would reinvigorate the historic town’s main street and create an opportunity to entice more visitors.
“This money will be used for the first piece of a transformative project that will upgrade the existing Morgan St median and streetscape to create a vibrant area for all the community to utilise,” Cr Rutherford said.
“It will entice tourists passing through to stay and visit local businesses.
“Importantly, the project reinforces the town’s identity, ‘heritage’ tourism products and strengthens existing local businesses in the town to support the creation of additional local jobs and business offerings.”
She said this project, which has been the focus of extensive community consultation, was recently recognised at the Planning Institute of Australia’s Awards for Planning Excellence in Queensland, where it received a Commendation by the judges in the category of “Best Planning Ideas – Small Project”.
She said $900,000 funding for the Stanwell-Waroula Road upgrade would see major works, including road widening, paving and sealing, undertaken on a 4.5km stretch.
“This road provides an important connection for the Ridgelands and Alton Downs rural areas to Rockhampton, Gracemere and the CQ Livestock Exchange,” Cr Rutherford said.
“Work on the $1.62m project will provide a more resilient link for local business and an alternative route for inter-regional freight when Ridgelands Road is cut by flooding during natural disasters.”
She also welcomed funding of $870,000 for the Nine Mile Road Floodway Reconstruction and Widening Project.
“This project will reconstruct and widen a concrete floodway on Nine Mile Road, with the construction of 1.4 km of 6.5m wide concrete floodway,” Cr Rutherford said.
“Nine Mile Road is located west of the Rockhampton Airport and provides an important connection between the State controlled Ridgelands Road through to the State controlled Capricorn Highway via Fairybower Road.
“The existing concrete floodway is narrow at 4m wide and was constructed during World War II, and community support is enthusiastic for this proposed upgrade.”