A ROAD critical for the transport of livestock from major pastoral operations in north west Queensland has been rebuilt in the wake of the February 2019 monsoon.
Sedan Dip Road in Cloncurry has been rebuilt and sealed after Cloncurry Shire Council received $9.4 million in funding under the joint federal and state governments disaster recovery funding.
Federal Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud said the road had been rebuilt better than before.
"Sedan Dip Road provides essential access for livestock from major pastoral operations across two shires," Mr Littleproud said.
"Flooding rain from the monsoon trough in 2019 resulted in a loss of gravel, major washouts and covered multiple sections of the road in large amounts of silt and debris, cutting the road off for an extended period of time.
"Cloncurry Shire Council has used the betterment funding to stabilise and seal the road, improving its resilience in wet conditions and shortening the duration of road closures following a weather event."
Deputy Premier Steven Miles said improvement projects, such as the upgrades to Sedan Dip Road, provided big benefits to the community.
"Communities across Queensland are feeling the economic impacts of COVID-19. Projects like this provide a valuable injection of funds into the local economy and support regional jobs" Mr Miles said.
"Not only are we repairing infrastructure, we're building it to a higher standard than before it was damaged making the road more resilient. This means down the track council won't need to constantly repair the same road after every major weather event.
"This investment has allowed the Cloncurry Shire Council to increase the longevity of the road, giving primary producers the ability to move to and from their properties as needed."
Cloncurry Mayor Gregory Campbell said the outcome achieved for the community and the broader beef industry was tremendous.
"The ... funding created construction jobs as well as improving the safety and efficiency of the Sedan Dip Road many times over," Cr Campbell said.
"Roads and communication are two critical components in a successful business and become even more so in a disaster.
"Minister Littleproud was the first minister on the ground in 2019 and he has championed our needs since."
The Sedan Dip Road Betterment works were delivered through the $242 million extraordinary assistance package funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA)