Queensland is still being hit with a swathe of road restrictions in the aftermath of heavy rain and flooding
March 19, 2010
Despite flood levels receding and weather improving, freight operators in Queensland are still being hit with a swathe of road restrictions.
The Balonne and Carnarvon highways are closed to all vehicles in some sections, while five tonne load limits have been imposed on heavy vehicles to prevent further damage to flood-affected roads.
All vehicles exceeding five tonnes are refused entry on the Balonne from St George to Bollon, while the route from Thallon to Nindigully on the Carnarvon has also been closed.
The Castlereagh Highway, which extends from NSW into Queensland, is closed to all vehicles due to widespread flooding and severe road damage.
Excessive water on the Mitchell Highway, which runs from central and northern NSW into southern Queensland, means all vehicles north of Barringun and south of Cunnamulla have been refused access.
A number of local roads are also closed off or have weight restrictions as emergency crews continue to clean up after heavy rain two weeks ago.
Despite the number of closures, however, the Carnarvon Highway has been partially opened north of Nindigully in outback Queensland through to St George with no tonnage limit.
However, the route from the Queensland and NSW border to Thallon is now open to vehicles not exceeding five tonnes.
“Main Roads crews have travelled more than 6,000 kilometres in the past few weeks, inspecting and assessing damaged roads and carrying out urgent repair work,” Queensland Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace says.
“The good news is that the Warrego, Landsborough and Moonie highways and Cooper and Diamantina developmental roads, along with sections of Bulloo Developmental Road, are now open to all traffic with no restrictions.”
He says crews worked through the weekend on a section of the Carnarvon Highway south of Roma in the Western Downs region to allow access to Surat and are currently helping repair Charleville to Quilpie road.
Northern and south-western regions of Queensland were hit hard recently with inclement rain, causing flooding on key routes and damaging roads. Some regions were cut off and supplies had to be flown in while road repairs were carried out.