MINISTER OPENS $2.8 MILLION-DOLLAR ROAD UPGRADE

Diamantina Shire residents now have improved road conditions between Bedourie and Birdsville following the $2.8 million upgrade of the Eyre Developmental Road.

Transport and Main Roads Minister and Member for Gregory Vaughan Johnson said the recently completed project included the new Glengyle Bridge over Eyre Creek.

Mr Johnson will officially open the new road and bridge at Glengyle Bridge on Wednesday 3 December at 5pm.

"This new bridge and the multi-million dollar road upgrade was an integral component of the State Government's commitment to improving the quality of rural roads in western Queensland," said Mr Johnson.

The realignment of this section of the Eyre Developmental Road south of Cluney Station to the Cuttaburra totals 46 kilometres in length and includes the approaches to the new bridge over Eyre Creek at Glengyle Station.

"The new road provides a paved surface and improves the creek crossings at Toko, Bullagurdi and Alans Yard channels, as well as providing new concrete structures at the Cuttaburra crossing," he said. Mr Johnson said that Queensland's extensive road network was the lifeline of rural and regional communities across the state, as it provided vital links between remote locations for the beef industry, tourists, and local traffic.

"The Coalition Government is focused on developing a safe road network that contributes to the economic and social prosperity of rural and remote Queensland.

"Unlike the previous Labor Government, this Government has a commitment to the economic, trade and regional development in the Diamantina Shire," he said.

Mr Johnson said this new bridge was designed to reduce lost travel time due to prolonged flooding of the Nine Mile and Six Mile crossings upstream and was built to cope with a 3.25-metre flood. Official flood level records show that there have only been four floods higher than 3.25 metres.

"This work should significantly reduce, on average, road closures due to flooding between Bedourie and Birdsville from 75 days per year to just four days per year.

"Transport operators' costs will also be reduced, tourists will be more confident about access in Diamantina Shire, and local traffic won't have to worry about being held up for months at a time," he said.

"Road safety issues have also been addressed with 68 fewer bends on this stretch of road, reducing the travel time between Bedourie and Birdsville by about 10 to 15 minutes," Mr Johnson said.