Moree Plains Shire’s local economy is heavily dependent on the grain and cotton industries. These industries are estimated to contribute in excess of $250m per annum to the local area. Moree Plains Shire is one of the most productive ‘food bowl’ shires in the Country and while this has very positive impacts for the community there is a detrimental component as well.  The Shire contains an extensive water based intensive cropping industry which results in high demands on the road network. Current maintenance and renewal expenditure is not keeping pace with road deformation. Freight haulage, involving heavy and oversized vehicles is a major contributor to road degradation throughout the Shire. Rough pavements, including the lack of sealed shoulders, impose excessive wear on vehicles.  The community as a whole requires a safe and readily useable road network for freight transport, school bus routes, general use and commuting for employment.

The extensive use of Council road infrastructure has increased deformation and deterioration to a level that requires maintenance and renewal programs currently beyond our financial capability. To put it in simple terms Council’s road assets are being consumed at a rate greater than they are being replaced and the funding gap is significant and increasing exponentially. This is demonstrated in the Sustainable Local Road Network graph pictured on page 3. Table A below is a summary that highlights the funding shortfall that Moree Council is facing in relation to critical road infrastructure maintenance.


* Sustainable maintenance on Unsealed Rural Roads excludes gravel re-sheeting & is basic routine maintenance only. The gravel re-sheeting shortfall & backlog is approximately an additional $16.7M & considered beyond the capacity of Council’s rate revenue base.


Key Milestone

On the basis of current available information and assuming a road cost increase of 5.0% per annum and a special variation program as listed in Table B above, Moree Council will achieve a funding level that should preserve the existing 610km of local sealed roads within the Shire to its current condition by the year 2014. After this time, it would be necessary to maintain appropriate funding levels to continue to address gravel   re-sheeting works on critical access routes and flood-ways, backlog and upgrading works. Catch-up milestone: Year 2014 - Sufficient income is forecast to be available to maintain the existing 484km of rural and 126km of Urban sealed local road network and provide caretaker maintenance on unsealed roads.

These works include the following:

•    Heavy Patching on Rural and Urban Sealed Roads.
•    Table Drain Cleaning & Reshaping on Rural Sealed and Un-sealed Roads.
•    Bitumen Resealing of Rural and Urban Roads.
•    Shoulder Maintenance on Rural Roads.
•    Routine Maintenance on Rural and Urban Roads.
•    Pavement Renewal of Rural and Urban Sealed Roads.
•    Kerb and Gutter Renewal on Urban Roads.
•    Gravel re-sheeting works on critical access routes and flood-ways.

This excludes Regional Road maintenance and Council is trying in earnest to secure additional revenue through alternate sources to maintain that infrastructure. In addition, at the proposed funding level Council will still be unable to meet required cyclic gravel re-sheeting programs, focusing only on selected high priority flood ways and critical wet weather access routes.
With no additional revenue Council will be forced to allow significant arterial road segments to revert to dry weather only access. Even with the additional funding sought, Council will be forced to focus on road maintenance works to ensure critical links are maintained now and for future generations. The primary purpose of this application is to ensure future ‘infrastructure sustainability’.
Below: Road train (11 axles) delivering produce to a grain receival facility after transport over the local road network. Roads trains can weigh in excess of 79 tonnes and cause extensive road deformation. Moree Shire has the largest total tonne grain output in NSW and Queensland.


Below: Cotton modules delivered to a Ginning centre after transport from various farms. These modules can travel over 200km of shire road before reaching their destination. Once processed the cotton is bailed and transported over the shire road network again to various destinations.

Below: Sealed road suffering critical failure.