Community & Business
3 December, 2022
Push for main road upgrade
TABLELANDS Regional Council has written to Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey and State Member for Hill Shane Knuth in a bid to get a section of Upper Baron Road upgraded to two lanes.
The move comes after residents met with Mr Knuth and councillors recently to speak out about the condition of the last remaining 5.5km single lane section of Upper Barron Road into Malanda.
Council has told Mr Bailey the road must be upgraded to two lanes, claiming the condition of the road had worsened since the completion of the road widening of the western end.
“The amount of traffic has increased with population growth, wind farm projects, cattle and fuel transport and an increasing number of tourists visiting Bloomfield Swamp,” the council’s motion stated.
“With the increased traffic the shoulders of the road quickly wash out and deteriorate at the first sign of rain leaving the road in a very dangerous condition until the next scheduled maintenance event.
“Residents along this section of road are extremely concerned for their safety and the safety of other road users and especially for their children who travel on the school bus twice a day.
“The traffic of large trucks and the like has continued to increase due to population increases, quicker access for heavy vehicles accessing the Kennedy Hwy due to the completed upgrade to two lanes on the western end.”
