A Minute With The Mayor

One of my top priorities in my first year as Mayor has always been to push for real, tangible outcomes on the issues that matter most to our community—and for many years, our flood-prone road network has been right at the top of that list.

The Bruce Highway, particularly through the Goorganga Plains and Lethebrook section, has long been a pain point during heavy rainfall and flooding.

This vital stretch of highway received a $376 million funding commitment from the Federal Government several years ago. More recently, I’ve met with the new State Government to ensure this long-awaited project is prioritised.

I’m confident they’ll make good on their commitment, and it was incredibly promising to see this section specifically mentioned in their Olympic infrastructure plan last week. This gives me great hope we’ll see pre-planning and design kick off in the near future.

We are also seeing exciting progress on the Proserpine–Shute Harbour Road, Hamilton Plains Flood Immunity Upgrade. This project, jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments on a 50:50 basis, is focused on improving flood resilience by raising road levels and increasing culvert capacity, allowing floodwaters to drain more quickly and keeping the road open during wet weather.

This upgrade will deliver significant benefits for our community, particularly in keeping vital commuter, tourism and freight traffic moving during floods.

Preconstruction activities began in late 2024 and are progressing well, with this pre-construction completion expected around mid-2025.

The new open drain has already improved drainage and work is progressing with the relocation of a council water bore.

Procurement for the construction phase is already underway, tenders closed this week and if all goes to plan, construction will begin mid-year and take around 18 months to complete, weather permitting.

I know roadworks aren’t always easy or convenient, but this is about securing long-term resilience for our region. These are the kinds of investments that make our communities safer, more connected, and better prepared for the future.

There’s still work ahead, but this is the kind of momentum that turns long-term frustration into lasting results for our region.

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