Betterment funds build bridge for Grantham

A timber bridge near Grantham that is part of a key road for locals, primary producers and emergency services which has twice been damaged by floods will be rebuilt to a better standard as part of the Newman Government’s push to make flood-ravaged communities more resilient.

Community Recovery and Resilience Minister David Crisafulli said the Lockyer Valley Regional Council would receive $1,259,160 in ‘betterment’ funding to replace the old low-lying Thistlethwaite Bridge on Lockyer Creek with a new concrete structure, and to fund work to help prevent riverbank scouring upstream.

The total cost of the project is $2,605,585.

“In the past, the guidelines for replacing infrastructure have been so rigid and bureaucratic that councils were only allowed to rebuild structures to the same standard in the same location,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“What the betterment project does is let local communities put forward a solution that might cost a little more up front but will save us all paying for damage over and over again.”

Structural damage reduced the bridge to one lane after the 2011 floods and it suffered further damage during the floods in January this year, forcing council to close it for a week while emergency repairs were carried out.

The bridge is part of the Grantham-Winwill Road which is the main transport link for local vegetable farmers and the Stanbroke Meat Processing Plant, one of the region’s largest employers.

The road is also a vital route for emergency services and is used to evacuate locals in danger from floodwaters.

“The people of Grantham and the Lockyer Valley are no strangers to flooding and have proven time and time again how resilient they are in the face of natural disasters,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“It’s vital we do everything we can to help the community recover. This project will allow life to get back to normal as quickly as possible once floodwaters recede.”

The project will be carried out under the $80 million ‘betterment’ program, a Newman Government initiative, funded by the State and Federal Governments to give councils the chance to rebuild less damage-prone public infrastructure.

[ENDS] 19 September 2013

Media Contact: Andrew Longmire 0418 216 627