14 September 2014
Hailey Renault
The North West Star
LINKING up regional Queensland through a combined road strategy was the key point of discussion during a recent Western Regional Roads Forum in Mount Isa.
Members from government departments, Regional Development Australia and all of the regional roads groups met to discuss how to prioritise road funding.
Interim Working Group chair Rick Britton said every area had a list of priority roads it was chasing funding for, but by identifying the ones that linked up to create an inland transport network, the council had more bargaining power.
“You have your Hann Highway north of Hughenden and that can link into the Torrens Creek road to Muttaburra, Barcaldine and Tambo,” he said.
“Then you create an inland link from Melbourne to Cairns.
“They’re spending millions flood-proofing the Bruce Highway so let’s build another network inland.”
Cr Britton said the new transport networks would bring economic opportunities to Queensland as the need for road freight continued to rise.
“Let’s concentrate on industries already here and once we get them into place that will encourage other industries to get on board,” he said.
“There’s no point developing Northern Australia unless we have the transport networks that can help industries like that.”
Courtesy of The North West Star