POPULAR WORDS

March 25, 2010

Queensland Minister for Main Roads Craig Wallace says most of the flood-hit roads are now open and safe, following the once-in-a-century flood that crippled much of the state’s south west road network.

Most of the Carnarvon Highway is open to traffic with the Warrego, Landsborough, Moonie, Balonne and Mitchell Highways all open.

The Castlereagh Highway from St George to Dirranbandi, Diamantina Developmental Road, Bulloo Developmental Road and the Cooper Developmental Road are all open to traffic.

Wallace applauded the work of his department and local councils in getting the roads work-ready, saying that much of the road network is now accessible.

"It has taken just three weeks for my department and the Bulloo, Paroo, Quilpie, Balonne, Murweh and Maranoa shires to get most of the network back in service following a once-in-a-century flood event," he says.

However there are still restrictions on the trucking industry.

"Some roads and a small number of bridges still have a five-tonne load limit in place but these restrictions are being lifted as soon as possible with inspections continuing daily," Wallace says.

He says RoadTek and all local governments had done a remarkable job to keep the road network safe and provide the latest information and updates to industry and the community.

"Without their support we could not have completed the massive task of getting most of our network back online in less than three weeks," he says.