External funding to seal additional 2 km of Daymar - Weengallon Road

Work has commenced this week to upgrade and seal an additional two kilometres of Daymar - Weengallon Road in the far west of the Goondiwindi Region.

The work will extend the road’s existing seal, which currently runs for about 11.4 kilometres south of Weengallon.

Goondiwindi Regional Council received $1,708,580 from the Australian Government’s Roads to Recovery (R2R) program for 2020-21, and has allocated $250,000 towards the Daymar - Weengallon Road work. Council will also contribute an estimated $50,000 to the project.

Councillor Jason Watts holds Council’s portfolio for roads and transport. He said the work was part of Council’s commitment to invest in transport infrastructure right across the region.

“This is a significant investment in one of our key regional roads and will make a positive difference to those local residents and rural businesses in the area,” Cr Watts said.

“Daymar - Weengallon Road forms an important link from Thallon to Weengallon and the Barwon Highway. It’s a critical route for road trains and this additional section of seal is important to further improve rural, agricultural and industrial access in the area,” he said.

“Council is really pleased to see this kind of funding go towards our regional roads in particular. It’s a long process, but this is a great opportunity to improve the road conditions by extending the seal on an important road for residents, especially in the west of the region.”

The Queensland Government recognises Daymar - Weengallon Road as one of the state’s ‘Local Road of Regional Significance’ (LRRS). An LRRS is a road that provides a primary connection across more than one local government area within a regional road network, and Daymar- Weengallon Road is a key connection between Goondiwindi Regional Council and Balonne Shire Council areas.

Approximately 33,600 kilometres of roads across Queensland form the LRRS network.

Cr Watts said external funding opportunities such as the R2R program were a significant boost for the region’s regional infrastructure and were also vital in supporting local businesses.

“As a Council, we see this is a great opportunity to invest in our regional roads using external funding, which means less cost to the ratepayer,” he said. “A $300,000 project like this is also a great injection into the local economy - Council will engage local contractors and suppliers to complete the work, which means it generates more income for local businesses.”

The work will complement other significant road upgrades across the region that have been funded externally, including a major $6.25 million project to widen the Barwon Highway between Talwood and Nindigully. It also complements the $1.75 million that Council allocated towards re-sheeting regional roads in 2020-21.

The project is expected to take about a month to complete, weather depending. Drivers should plan for some short delays to travel times during construction.