Fish friendly infrastructure comes to Alton Downs

Published on 18 July 2018

A crossing at Sandy Creek near Alton Downs has been transformed thanks to investment from the Australian Government and Rockhampton Regional Council.

The small timber bridge located at the site was in poor condition and had a load limit of just 15 tonnes. The brand new concrete bridge has a load limit of 70 tonnes.

Infrastructure Committee Chair Councillor Tony Williams said the benefits of the new bridge went beyond the obvious.

“It is of course fantastic that the bridge is now accessible to so many more people in a much larger range of vehicles.

“However the new bridge also makes the crossing ‘fish friendly’. Essentially this means it has been constructed in a way which allows free movement along the waterway, which is an essential requirement for the survival of many species of Queensland fish.

“Council is grateful to the Federal Government for providing half of the funds needed for this project to happen. It is a fantastic example of different levels of government coming together to improve our infrastructure.

“The investment in the crossing at Sandy Creek will make such a difference to those who need to use the bridge. This is especially true of larger vehicles which previously had to make detours as the timber bridge could not support them.”

The project was jointly funded by Rockhampton Regional Council and the Australian Government, with each contributing $338,000.

The Australian Government’s $338,000 contribution came from Round 2 of the Federal Bridges Renewal Program.