MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
By Teresa Harding
There is no city in Queensland forecast to grow at a faster rate than Ipswich in the coming decades, as we are planned to increase from our current 265,000 residents to more than half a million by 2046.
While Ipswich City Council doesn’t set these growth and housing targets – this is determined by the Queensland Government – we do have a role to play in ensuring our local roads are keeping pace with this rapid growth.
This year, we will be investing around $165 million into our capital works as part of a three-year program of works delivering more than $560 million in critical infrastructure for our city.
Across the city, residents will see some new projects kicking off this month and some of our bigger projects continuing to gain momentum.
In the weeks ahead, nightworks will take place to allow for early works for the $3.6 million Ripley Rd and Reif St intersection upgrade.
The works throughout October are needed to prepare for the widening and traffic light upgrade of the intersection and entry onto the Cunningham Highway from the intersection.
This month, Council also secured $73.6 million from the Queensland Government towards its plans to upgrade Ripley and Fischer roads, which represents a significant investment in the future of the Ripley Valley.
Nightworks are also taking place as part of Council’s largest ever road upgrade, the Springfield Parkway project.
They are expected to continue until mid-October to allow for service relocations and upgrades along Springfield Parkway from Bridgewater Rd roundabout towards Panorama Drive.
The $2.82 million upgrade of Adelong Ave at Thagoona is also progressing well, with crews currently working on improving resident driveways impacted by the works and connecting storm water drainage.
This is an important upgrade for our western suburbs, which are among our city’s fastest growing and will see more growth in the years ahead.
This project, jointly funded by Council and the Federal Government’s Road to Recovery program, also has an exciting sustainability element through the use of foam bitumen stabilisation.
This allows the existing road materials and base to be recycled and treated with lime and bitumen to increase the compressive strength, stability and quality of the road, making it a sustainable choice.
I thank residents for their patience as we crack on with the job of ensuring we manage our city’s growth sustainably and safely. Delivering these key road upgrades is about doing just that.
