On the road to upgrade

TCC’S $171m investment

Magnetic Island, North Ward and Garbutt will be the next suburbs to receive part of the Townsville City Council’s $171.2m investment in roads and other infrastructure.

A number of projects are being carried out across the city, with the council saying that progress is set to quicken due to warmer, drier weather.

Townsville City Council Mayor Jenny Hill said that 38 road projects had already been completed this financial year across the 1380km of roads that fall under TCC’S jurisdiction.

“We understand the importance of maintaining our road network for the community,” Ms Hill said.

“It is a big job, and we work cooperatively with the Department of Transport and Main Roads to ensure the entire network is maintained.”

The work being undertaken is extensive, the Mayor said, and involves more than resurfacing roads that have been worn by usage.

“We maintain billions of dollars of assets and infrastructure that are decades old,” she said.

“When it comes time to replace that infrastructure, including roads, we need to consider the whole life cycle of that asset and how we can maximise that investment.

“It’s not just putting a new surface on a road.”

Infrastructure Services Committee chairman Kurt Rehbein said the projected schedule for the projects, some of which take only a day and others that take multiple months, would proceed according to the asset capital plan.

“I am pleased with the work that we’ve done like the resurfacing of Campion Circle in Kirwan along with extensive road maintenance on Magnetic Island,” Mr Rehbein said.

“There’s a lot of road maintenance activity happening at Horseshoe, Arcadia, Picnic and Nelly bays that improves the network on the island.”

Streets in North Ward will receive a $1.6m upgrade later in the year. In Garbutt, Meenan St will also receive improvements, with a targeted completion date of mid-july.

“We want you to be aware of works like this if you are using that route to access Townsville Airport,” Mr Rehbein said.

“We’ve learnt to expect the unexpected when we undertake roadworks because the challenges are often hidden.”

ROAD IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

• $1.5m has been budgeted for guardrails and safety signage along Horseshoe Bay Rd. • $293,000 was budgeted for the recent replacement of the Mundy Creek pedestrian bridge at Rowes Bay. • $230,000 was budgeted for the new Lou Lister Park footbridge at Hermit Park. • $395,000 was budgeted for the Woolcock St Service Rd improvements in Currajong. • $200,000 was budgeted for improvements to Bowhunters Rd at Condon.

•$306,000 was budgeted for resealing of Bonny Court at Rasmussen; and

• $770,000 was budgeted for the full reconstruction of Isaac St at Deeragun.