TRC data reveals regional road cost

IT WOULD cost the Toowoomba Regional Council more than $23m to properly seal the region’s 10 highest priority rural roads, new documents have revealed.

The council’s infrastructure department will present a list of the unsealed roads that need the most urgent attention, as evidence for why it can’t prioritise another road sealing requested by residents.

Locals living along Merritts Creek Road in Merritts Creek, situated between Pechey and Hampton in the northern region, have repeatedly asked the TRC to seal the 8.5km of road for a variety of reasons.

But a new report by traffic and infrastructure technology systems principal Rod Betts, which will be presented to the councillors at Tuesday’s committee meeting, shows Merrits Creek Road cannot be a priority due to its relatively low multi-criteria assessment score, which is used to help the council prioritise certain roadworks.

The highest priority road is currently Wyreema Athol Road at Wyreema and Athol, which would cost about $3.3m to seal for $650,000 per km.

The data reveals the top 10 roads requiring an upgrade first would cost $23.309m.

Mr Betts’ report recommended the council not prioritise Merrits Creek Road above other rural routes, despite the obvious need for a seal.

“Council receives many requests each year for gravel roads to be bitumen sealed,” the report said.

“While there is a level of merit in relation to the ongoing requests to seal the southern section of Merritts Creek Road, there are numbers of higher priority requests across the region, and accordingly it is unlikely this road will be able to be prioritised for bitumen seal upgrade in the near future.”

The meeting will be held at the annex from 9am.