Good afternoon,
The Mt Spec Road reconstruction works are progressing well, however due to the nature of the work and with varying ground conditions, the volume of work required is substantial. The continuous supply of materials during night shifts is also proving a challenge. On top of this, we are aware of the current predictions for the commencement of the 2020/21 wet season from mid-December 2020. The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) and the contractor are working hard to get these works completed as quickly as possible to avoid the works being prolonged into the new year and wet season.
Considering all of this, and our commitment to work hard to get these works completed before the wet season commences, the contractor will require a full weekend road closure of Mt Spec Road next weekend.
The proposed closure will be:
From 7pm Friday 27 November to 6am Monday 30 November 2020
We understand that any closure has impacts on the community and we are working with the contractor to minimise any impacts. Drawing on your feedback previously provided, the contractor is able to arrange the weekend works to include a one hour road opening each day. There will be a one hour window of opportunity on Saturday morning and again on Sunday afternoon for the community or guests of accommodation services and camping grounds at Paluma to travel through the works.
We are seeking your feedback on the most preferred time slot for the one hour road opening on the Saturday and Sunday. The available options are:
Saturday
8am to 9am
9am to 10am
10am to 11am
11am to 12noon
Sunday
1pm to 2pm
2pm to 3pm
3pm to 4pm
4pm to 5pm
As we are running under tight timeframes we will need your response by 10am this Friday 20 November 2020 at the latest via email to engagement.northern@tmr.qld.gov.au (please note, there is no guarantee it will be the hour you have chosen as we will need to go with the majority preference).
As soon as the timeframes for the one hour opening on the Saturday and Sunday are known, we will communicate this with you this Friday afternoon (one week prior to the closure) so you can make any suitable arrangements you may need for yourself or your guests. TMR has already started speaking to some Paluma businesses on this matter and this email is to ensure we can seek a broad range of feedback before setting the road opening times.
The reason we can only allow a one hour closure each day is primarily due to the concrete pump that is required for the works. To allow for the road opening, the concrete pump must be shut down. An hour is the maximum amount of time the concrete pump can be shut down before the concrete hardens. If this happens it takes hours to get it ready for use again, essentially defeating the purpose to make some really good progress on the works over the weekend.
Whilst we understand some of you may be have to make some alternative arrangements for the weekend, we hope you can see the benefit the weekend closure will provide the community to get these works completed prior to Christmas.
Please, if you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact Meghan or Kelly in the Customer and Stakeholder Management team on 1800 625 648 or by email at engagement.northern@tmr.qld.gov.au.
We thank you for your ongoing patience during these works.
Kind regards,
Meghan Peters
Customer and Stakeholder Management
Northern District | Department of Transport and Main Roads
Floor 6 | Townsville Government Office Building | 445 Flinders Street | Townsville Qld 4810
PO Box 1089 | Townsville Qld 4810
P: 1800 625 648 | F: (07) 4421 8711
engagement.northern@tmr.qld.gov.au
www.tmr.qld.gov.au
