Railway Estate pathway project gets underway
Date published: 20 September 2021
A road and pathway enhancement along First Street in Railway Estate which will improve safety and access to Townsville State High School is underway now.
The $628,000 project will see around 230m of pathway laid from Townsville State High School to Flowers Street and a reseal on the road shoulder for enhanced car parking.
Infrastructure Services Committee chairperson Kurt Rehbein said the project would ensure that school-goers and residents alike could travel through the area safely.
“First Street is the main access point into Townsville State High and a built up residential area close to a main road, so it’s important that we upgrade the road and build a pathway for the safety of road-users and pedestrians in the area,” Cr Rehbein said.
“This project will improve the access to the bus parking, add additional carparking and ensure pedestrians have a safe pathway to walk along.
“We’ve begun the construction at the beginning of the September school holidays to minimise the impact on parents, students and teachers and our crews will move away from the school as the next term begins.
“The First Street project has received $500,000 from the Queensland Government’s School Transport Infrastructure Program.
“I’d like to acknowledge the Department of Transport and Main Roads for the funding of this project, which truly shines a light on the safety of our school children getting to and from school.”
Member for Townsville Scott Stewart said the Palaszczuk Government is proud to support projects that improve safety for school kids.
“Student safety around our roads is important and that’s why the Palaszczuk Government has committed $20 million towards the School Transport Infrastructure Program,” Mr Stewart said.
“This funding has been crucial in keeping school kids safe by securing new traffic signals, “stop, drop and go” zones, car park modifications, footpaths, bus and vehicle turnaround areas, pedestrian crossings and dedicated turning lanes at Queensland schools.
“We’ve also put flashing signs at more than 1,100 school zones since 2012 and will be rolling out new speed camera technology that targets speeding drivers in school zones later this year.”
As part of the project, Council has engaged Abscan, who are fully qualified and EPA licenced, to remove and dispose of asbestos materials that are located on the work site.
The removal of the asbestos will be conducted over the school holidays and precautionary measures, including air monitoring and double wrapping of any asbestos materials, will be taken to ensure that there is no impact on the community.
There will be some minor road restrictions during construction and Council will keep the community up to date as the project progresses.
Construction is expected to be completed by early November.
