Gairloch Floodway Safety Project Reaches Overdue Design Milestone

28 May 2024

Hinchinbrook MP and Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Deputy Leader, Nick Dametto, has announced a long-awaited milestone in relation to the Gairloch flood and safety project to the north of Ingham but the accolades weren’t without fair criticism with the project currently dragging through its tenth years of being on the books.

The Gairloch project, crucial for ensuring the Bruce Highway remains open and operational during a typical wet season, will now move into the detailed design phase.

Mr Dametto expressed his gratitude for the advancement of this critical infrastructure project but emphasised that locals and regular road users had every right to be furious it had taken 10 years to get to this point and to only now be moving into the detailed design phase.

“My understanding is the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) will go out to tender next month and are aiming for an August commencement date.

“The reality is that road users will be facing another wet season without any physical works commencing however once detailed design is complete, the next phase will be construction and that’s all that really matters to locals, they want to see machinery and work crews on the ground,” Mr Dametto said.

“Further up the road I was optimistic that there would also be an update about the Dallachy Road/Bruce Highway project south of Tully however we’ve recently discovered that this will be contingent upon the upcoming state budget in June.

“This project was once fully funded and progressed as far as going out to tender for construction, however delays on part of both the State and Federal Governments caused this once fully funded project to financially fall short.

“The Albanese Labor Government, responsible for delaying all major infrastructure projects by six months as part of their “90-day” infrastructure review, has now turned their backs and left the State holding the baby. If this project is to be completed, the State will need to try and fill the financial void.

“Up here there are only about 7 months per year that construction can occur, each time there is a bureaucratic delay, the project can be pushed back another six or twelve months as a result.

“We are waiting with bated breath for the June budget to see whether the Miles Government can deliver the necessary funding, or whether locals and commuters will be forced to endure another wet season filled with traffic delays and highway closures. The TMR Minister might not care about this down in Aspley and it won’t help him get re-elected, but it’s important to us in the north.

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