Roads & Infrastructure
Council advocates for increased funding to repair and maintain national highways and state-controlled roads.
National highways and state-controlled roads play a significant role in the success of the region's largest industries. Repairing and maintaining these roads is essential to support the economy and our communities.
Background
Western Downs Regional Council has the second largest network of local roads in Australia, while also maintaining over 1800km of national highway and state-controlled roads.
Our strong and diverse economy is based on agriculture and intensive agricultural productivity, power generation, the extraction of gas and mining commodities, and manufacturing. The Gross Regional Product of our region has grown by 34% over the last 5 years, and our contribution to the Australian economy will continue to grow.
The Issue
The regional freight routes which play an essential role in these industries require significant funding to renew and maintain road assets to support these industries and the Australian economy.
Based on the economic productivity, the Western Downs region has an extremely large freight task which significantly reduces the condition and the asset life of road infrastructure as opposed to light passenger vehicles. This is further exacerbated by the fertile black soil plains common in the region, which typically struggle under the weather conditions, leading to distortion, cracking and general unevenness of roads.
The poor condition of state-controlled roads and national highways presents an ongoing risk of property damage, injury or death to road users in the Western Downs region.
Desired Outcome
National and State Government funding allocations are required as a priority to alleviate the backlog of urgent works and support the ongoing maintenance, longevity and safety of road infrastructure in the Western Downs. $41.52 million is required to meet the costs of urgent maintenance works.
State and Federal attention and increased investment in these roads is essential to ensure vital transport and logistics continue to operate effectively and safely.