Gympie Regional Council has advised that the low level bridge over a perennial water crossing on the Kilkivan to Kingaroy Rail Trail at Wide Bay Creek (some 225 NW of Brisbane) has now been completed. Council obtained matching funding from the Queensland State Government for a total of $283,500 to design and call tenders for construction of the bridge. Construction commenced in July and was completed by the end of September. This crossing had presented a major obstacle on the trail about six kilometres out from the trailhead at Kilkivan. Water levels constantly fluctuate at this point, varying from dry to waist deep, depending on rainfall.
The design of the bridge has caused concern from Rail Trails Australia and rail trail users over the use of steps and a steep ramp. Gympie Regional Council has responded to enquiries of the design by stating that the bridge is designed to be inundated during rainfall events and is for the use of walkers and mountain bikers. Horse riders are expected to walk their steeds through the crossing beside the bridge.
A Council Planning Officer has acknowledged concerns over the design with a statement (29/09/2021) saying “Council is presently considering suitable solutions to improve the usability of this bridge, most specifically relating to the access ramps and stairs of the bridge where they meet the gravel trail.” RTA looks forward to these concerns being addressed.
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Register for news updatesSunday, 4 June, saw the Mansfield Marathon along the Mansfield end of the Great Victorian Rail Trail (GVRT) return for t...
Paul Baker, an enthusiastic rider who is aiming to ride every rail trail in Victoria in 2023, recently rode his 29th Ra...
The section of the Port Fairy – Warrnambool Rail Trail between Port Fairy and Illowa will soon benefit from a new surf...
The community have the opportunity to provide direct feedback to assist the Mt Alexander Shire Council in partnership wi...
The City of Greater Bendigo will shortly commence a project to construct and install public toilets, bike hoops, new par...
A large crowd turned out today (Friday 26 May) on a beautiful morning at Trawool Estate for the official launch of the A...
On Wednesday 10 May 2023 a public-information session was held for community members to view and discuss the plans for r...
The duplication of Main South Road from Seaford to Sellicks Beach has commenced and will include a 16km off-road shared ...
The Bunny Rail Trail is a new trail under development between Ballarat and Buninyong in Western Victoria. Walkers, runne...
The good news just keeps rolling in for the Tweed Section of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail with the Tweed Council NRRT ...
On 17 May 2023, Cessnock City Council unanimously approved the Review of Environmental Factors (REF) and associated repo...
The third South Burnett Express Rail Trail Relay, run from Kingaroy to Wondai (on the Kilkivan – Kingaroy Rail Tra...
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5 comments on “New bridge at water crossing on Kilkivan to Kingaroy”
What a crazy design ! Nobody is going to dismount ……… a shallow ramp at either end was all that was needed. As for the roadside posts …….. yeh they'll flex nicely as someone goes over the edge or wants to grab something firm, round steel posts with galvanized pipe(nothing sharp) would have done the trick. Strikes me this was made up of parts lying around the council depot. $283,000 – what a joke.
What ! Get it right the first time I would have thought ? Doing the right thing by your Constituents ? Tax payers where the funding no doubt would have come from ? What a JOKE !
The bridge has been a long time coming and I was very critical of there not having one. However to be fair I can see why it has been design as it has, because the bridge had to be raised above to river banks there needed to be a ramp and steps ,the ramp is to wheel the bikes up and the steps the rider uses to climb while pushing their bike up the ramp. This method is used in New Zealand on occasions and if used correctly works well .
Gympie City Council should never have approved it. If I was a GCC rate payer I'd be asking for an explanation as to why I have to pay due to their incompetence.
A person can only wonder at what were they thinking when they designed and built that abomination