Flinders River Byways Access Crossing

FLINDERS RIVER BYWAYS GAINS ALL WEATHER ACCESS CROSSING

Hari Boppudi CEO, Flinders Shire Council

When engineers decide to work out a commonsense approach and deliver a product that complies with the relevant standards and regulations, we will see outcomes similar to the Flinders River Glentor Crossing. Designed and constructed by Flinders Shire Council with the assistance of local contractors, due to the low VPD numbers on this road, Council wanted a structure that is resilient, low maintenance and cost effective. The project success mantra was to use the best of local knowledge, making the best use of locally available materials. Council crews completed the project on time and within budget, achieving 70% cost savings compared to the other options considered during the planning and design stage.

Glentor Road is the only access to the local property owners; closure of the link (generally due to wet weather events) increases their travel time by 30 min - 1 hour one-way. This route is widely used by the producers along the Hann Highway and the Glentor Road and is a vital link to southbound traffic. VPD is 250 to 300 per day when the road is accessible. Users had lodged numerous complaints and submitted various requests to Council to upgrade the crossing. This project was in the planning stage and on the wishlist for a long time. I started my career with Flinders in 2010, and my overseer always told me of his desire to build the crossing before he retired. He was not hopeful due to project costs and complexity. I used to tell him miracles happen. We secured funding following the 2019 flood event, when he was alive but commenced works after his sudden death due to health issues. He had so looked forward to contributing to the success of this project.

The crossing is in a purple zone; hence the proposed scope had to comply with the “ accepted development requirements for operational work constructing or raising waterway barrier works” as required by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries guidelines. The engineering challenge was compliance, budget and a design/scope that the Council workforce

could deliver. The project team undertook the initial investigation works in consultation with the local property owners and the Council. The preliminary meetings gave the technical crew a good overview of the ground conditions, challenges, overview and history, and locally sourced materials data. We also collected information on how older crossings built along the Flinders River had lasted for more than 60 years. Although the old crossings are structurally sound they are technically non-compliant with the current legislation. However, we used the design basis of these old crossings, adjusting to comply with the current legislation. Credit goes to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for assisting Council in providing preliminary advice and granting the approvals on time. My experience with Fisheries is worth mentioning; I had heard that the approval process could be lengthy, so I considered obtaining timely approvals to be a crucial task. To expedite the process, I read the guidelines, ensured I was familiar with the requirements, and prepared a concept before the first meeting with the Department. We discussed the scope, compliance, and changes required and submitted the final version of the drawings for review and approval. As a result, we received approvals in little time. The Flinders River Glentor Crossing project involved planning, designing, and constructing a new concrete crossing with bitumen approaches. Prior to replacement, council crews repaired the floodway after every minor and significant rain event requiring closure of the road for extended periods. The existing structure was a gravel causeway, and the newly built structure is a concrete causeway, which minimises the damage to the asset and reduces road closure timings.

The project scope consisted of a new concrete floodway (approximately 190m) on Flinders River Crossing and 1.2km of bitumen approaches. The scope included excavating the riverbed to the shale layer (approximately 5m) and filling it with rock of various sizes layered to allow natural interlocking. The 6.5m wide concrete floodway was constructed using the rock foundation (8.0m wide) as a base and ensured the top of the crossing is at river bed level. Initially, we thought of using gabion baskets to fill the rock. After listening to the experiences of one of the contractors based in the Far North and how a river had taken away the whole structure, we decided not to consider this option. I had also considered using drums filled with concrete as footings to hold the reinforcement, but I dismissed that option as it was risky from a compliance perspective and costly from the construction perspective, probably a silly idea to an extent.

The Flinders River Glentor Crossing was a flood resilience and road safety project which now saves at least $50,000 per year to the Council maintenance budget and provides access to the locals for more than 11 months of the year, reducing travel time by around two hours and has proved popular with tourists travelling through the bio-regions. Before renewal, Glentor Road was closed between four-five months during the wet season. The Council and locals now consider this road an all-weather link connecting North to South.

Hari is Chief Executive Officer at Flinders Shire Council. Hari has spent the last 11 years with Flinders Shire Council, across various Associate Director of Engineering roles, and overseeing multiple projects. Prior to this, Hari’s Engineering career began with Ipswich Water in graduate and Project Officer roles, before moving to Hughenden to commence his career in the Shire council.