11 April 2024

Milo Road is set for some significant upgrades with the announcement that the Shire of Irwin’s application for $5 million in Australian Government funding under the Bridges Renewal Program (BRP) has been successful.

The Milo Road Upgrade Project is expected to cost over $6.7 million, with $5 million coming from the BRP and $600,000 courtesy of a generous grant from Mitsui E&P Australia (MEPAU) and Beach Energy. The Shire of Irwin will cover the remaining costs.

The BRP currently provides at least $85 million per year to fund the upgrade and replacement of bridges to enhance access for local communities and facilitate higher productivity vehicle access.

Milo Road is a 23 kilometre stretch of road that is heavily utilised and forms part of a regional heavy haulage route located in the east of the Shire of Irwin. The road, that is used for grain, fertilizer, stock and lime sand cartage as well as for general traffic movements, crosses the Irwin River via a small concrete culvert bridge directly followed by a floodway.

During medium to heavy rain events the Milo Road Irwin River crossing is often inundated with water causing the crossing to be closed periodically.

Shire of Irwin President Mark Leonard said several industries relied on Milo Road and were significantly impeded and impacted by the inadequacies of the road, in particular the crossing.

“The Irwin farming community rely heavily on Milo Road, as do other local industries, and the road, in its current state was not fit for purpose,” he explained.

“As use of this essential road network has increased, Council identified the Milo Road crossing infrastructure as being inadequate and unsustainable for the current and forecasted general traffic and heavy vehicle usage.”

The existing low crossing infrastructure will be replaced with a large culvert structure across the primary channel of the Irwin River (northern side) and a concrete floodway for the remaining section (southern side), including extending the radius of Milo Road by realigning the roadway on either side of the crossing.

Irwin Shire President Mark Leonard said Council was committed to ensuring future growth would not be hindered by aging road infrastructure.

“I would like to congratulate our Shire CEO and his team who were personally acknowledged by the Federal Government for the high-quality application they submitted,” he said.

Shire President Leonard said the Shire of Irwin Council were very grateful for the support MEPAU and Beach Energy has given to enable this major community project.

“This financial commitment from Mitsui E&P Australia (MEPAU) and their joint venture partner Beach Energy shows their willingness to be active participants in our region, which will be of huge benefit to our community going forward,” Cr Leonard said.

“These road improvements will deliver the best possible outcome for all users upon completion and have far reaching social and economic benefits.”

Works on the project are expected to begin before the end of this financial year.