Council to undertake maintenance on footbridges
Date published: 7 June 2021
Townsville City Council is undertaking maintenance works on a number of pedestrian footbridges across the city’s active transport network to give them a new lease on life.
The works, to be conducted by Council crews, will include the replacement of the Stuart Drive (Wulguru), Gleeson’s Weir (Douglas) and First Avenue (Railway Estate) footbridges as well as maintenance works conducted on the Riverside Tavern footbridge in Douglas.
Council’s Infrastructure Services Committee chairperson Kurt Rehbein said the works were essential in maintaining Council’s assets and ensuring the community had access to vital connections around Townsville.
“Our vision as a Council is to create a connected community, driven by lifestyle and nature and ensuring our residents and visitors are able to commute around Townsville with ease is a crucial part in delivering that vision,” Cr Rehbein said.
“We have more than 540km of footpaths around Townsville, and as a Council, we have a responsibility to maintain these assets and occasionally replace those at the end of their useable life.
“Throughout the duration of these works, our crews will have a closure in place for the Stuart Drive, Gleeson’s Weir and First Avenue footbridges as they work to replace the footbridges to ensure our community can continue to have access for years to come.
“The Riverway Tavern footbridge will be getting a new lease on life as we work to replace sections of decking, however our crews will endeavour to have the bridge open again between the hours of 4pm and 7am daily.”
Community Health, Safety and Environmental Sustainability chairperson Maurie Soars said the footbridges were a key component in Townsville’s active transport network.
“Ensuring the community has access to a connected active transport network goes beyond the convenience of getting to where you need to go, it allows our community to get out and about, exercise and just enjoy our unique lifestyle here in North Queensland,” Cr Soars said.
“We thank the community for their patience during these works, which will make our active transport network even better in the long run.”
The footbridge works are expected to be complete by the end of July.
