Black Weir reopens to the public this weekend
Date published: 12 April 2019
Townsville City Council is reopening Black Weir tomorrow – in time for the rest of the school holidays and the Easter long weekend.
The popular skiing, rowing and fishing destination has been closed since the unprecedented monsoon.
Divers and salvage teams have been removing large trees and other debris washed down the river.
Local Recovery and Resilience Group Chair Cr Les Walker said the search found 49 objects in the river and with 23 of those that had to be removed before Black Weir could reopen.
“A number of large trees and other debris had been washed down the river during the unprecedented monsoon,” Cr Walker said.
“Divers and salvagers identified any submerged items that posed a risk to the public and those items have been removed from the weir.
“The weir will reopen to the public tomorrow, just in time for the rest of the holidays and the Easter weekend.”
Infrastructure Committee Chair Cr Mark Molachino said crews had been unable to remove a large, visible pipe near Apex Park.
“The divers and salvagers were able to remove most of the submerged items from the weir – with the exception of a large pipe,” Cr Molachino said.
“It had been possible to float the other objects and debris down the river, but the pipe is up on a bank in shallow water, so crews were unable to shift it.
“It doesn’t pose any risk to the public, it’s quite visible so anyone on the river will see it clearly.”
Black Weir will close temporarily when the salvage company has determined the best strategy to remove the pipe.
