Rocks, rubbish removed. Range road repaired, restored.
Winding almost 70 kilometres, the Mackay-Eungella Road west of Mackay has long been an integral part of the local community and its economy.
First surveyed in 1904, the road was built by the Pioneer Development Board over the next five years at a cost of 1,700 pounds during a time when labourers were paid the princely sum of about one pound, or $2, per week.
Early settlers in Pioneer Valley experimented with sugar cane and its success saw it quickly become the district’s predominant crop.
Growth of the sugar cane industry drove the need for more substantial roads to transport the crops to the mills, and to provide access to the Port of Mackay for other commerce.
Over the ensuing decades the Mackay-Eungella Road has become the main link between Mackay and the rural townships of Pioneer Valley and Eungella, as well as providing access to Eungella National Park and Eungella Dam.
It’s a crucial stretch of road for the region, and that's what made the impacts of 2023's record-breaking rainfall all the more significant.
A monsoonal rain event in January 2023 dumped 668mm at Mount Charlton in just two days, and more than a metre at Finch Hatton in a week.
Damage from flooding was extensive and included landslips at 17 sites along Mackay-Eungella Road that temporarily closed the road from 16 January.
Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads fast-tracked emergency works, including removing large rocks and debris, to reopen the road under restricted access in just eight days.
Further clearing and stabilisation works enabled the restoration of 24-hour access from 25 February.
Works included removing debris and stabilising embankments above the roadway by securing and removing loose boulders, vegetation and other materials to reduce the risk of further slips.
Crews also repaired damaged bitumen, drainage, scours, headwalls, and kerbs.
While the emergency works got traffic flowing again TMR laid the groundwork for long-term repairs, conducting geotechnical investigations to determine where further works were required and drafting detailed design for major sites.
Minor pavement and drainage repairs commenced in June 2024 with significant repairs on the Eungella Range section of Mackay-Eungella Road starting the following month.
This included building a 62-metre-long, 2.4-metre-high concrete sleeper wall at the base of the slope to provide protection from rock falls.
High-tensile mesh and soil nails were installed over two areas, and shotcrete applied to the water flow route to stabilise the slope face beside the road.
Other works included clearing and scaling slope faces, removing scoured material and revegetating the slopes.
The recovery works, completed in December 2024, were jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
