Boulia mayor says unsealed road is wilting under increased cattle-train traffic from the north
May 2, 2013
Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson will look into Boulia Council concerns that the unsealed Donohue Highway is wilting under increased cattle-train traffic from the north.
Drought and a live-export downturn are reportedly resulting in increased livestock numbers headed for western Queensland saleyards.
“Mayor of Boulia Shire Council Rick Britton met with Minister Emerson . . . to discuss the state of the Donohue Highway,” spokesperson for Emerson says.
“While the Donohue Highway is not a state-controlled road, Minister Emerson asked the department to investigate the concerns raised by Councillor Britton.”
The council, in the state’s far west, wants emergency road funding set aside for the effects of drought in the same way it is for floods, Britton says.
“It is beyond the council to maintain this road,” he told the ABC.
“We are looking back at the history books and there was back around 1984 and 1985, there was some money around . . . we are in unchartered ground at the moment here where it is dry across Queensland and there is an influx of cattle coming from the north.
“We don’t want a yellow, golden brick road – we just want to maintain it and it is for the economic good of the state.”
