Road ready to feed food bowl

JUST under one-and-a-half million dollars’ worth of upgrades on Tall Tree Road at Lethbridge is complete.

The project, which was undertaken by Golden Plains Shire with two-thirds of the funding coming from the State government, is another piece to the growing infrastructure suite in what’s known as the Golden Plains Food Production Precinct.

“This area is still in its infancy but this whole precinct has been strategically identified and is of huge significance to our area,” said mayor Cr Owen Sharkey.

“The water was brought in years ago and now the road. All these little pieces of the jigsaw are slowly coming together.

“Fast forward into the future and this is an area that’s going to see a significant amount of traffic.”

Work on the upgrades, which began in early 2019 and was completed by the Shire’s capital works team, included sealing 3.5 kilometres of Tall Tree Road and widening the shoulder on a further 2.2-kilometre stretch that was already sealed.

Cr Sharkey said having council staff undertake the work was a good way of spreading resources while the Shire’s regular road maintenance program was on hiatus during the summer.

“We put those graders and workers into jobs like this as it’s an opportunity to keep those machines and everything we’ve got moving during those months,” he said.

“The grading program shuts down for summer, but to keep employment, people working and things going, we take on projects like this.”

One of the key outcomes from the upgraded road is that is can now accommodate heavy vehicles all year round.

That’s will be of huge benefit to primary producers like Stewart Marshall, regional manager from ProTen, who oversees a chicken farm stocked with about one-million broilers.

“We’re got a creek crossing on the Lethbridge side of the farm and in big rain events you can’t get through there. Which means we can’t get the birds off the farm or feed to them,” he said. “So having another access route relieves a lot of pressure.

“Also, we cart a lot of material out of the farm towards Shelford, so this saves now saves 40 to 50 minutes on a round trip and we don’t have to go though towns like Lethbridge or Teesdale. So if you do three or four trips a day, that’s a huge saving for us.”

The savings for farmers go beyond time and fuel, with the road in better condition, that has further benefits.

“The wear and tear on the trucks is reduced as well,” Mr Marshall said. “Having good smooth roads, and not dirt roads, saves on maintenance.”

But it’s not just the ability of farmers to easily move loads of grain or animals as well as heavy plant and machinery around.

The upgraded road has the potential to spark further development.

“They put in the water infrastructure, as you can’t do anything without water, and now having this road, it opens up more opportunity to build more farms,” Mr Marshall said.

“If we wanted to put in a new farm we’d probably have to chip in quite a lot of money for the road, and then you’d probably say it’s not worth it. Now with the road in it makes it definitely more attractive down the track.”

Money for the job came from two sources, with just under $500,000 put in from the Shire and a further near $1 million from the State government.

Member for Buninyong, Michaela Settle said facilitating good infrastructure in key rural areas was a priority.

“It’s incredibly important for these producers to be able to get to market,” she said.

“This part of what’s known as our roads to market program and it’s important because it’s connecting up our agricultural businesses.

“Here you’ve got a 4000 hectares of prime agri-business area but they really need that infrastructure to keep growing and to keep being productive.”