At this point in time and into the foreseeable future heavy road transport to and from Bromelton will pass through the centre of Beaudesert. And there goes any hopes we may have of restoring Beaudesert as a friendly rural town to become the focus of tourism in this region.
The existing rail line was a key feature for the State Government when choosing Bromelton as a State Development Area. Having the rail line run through the area would attract industry whose products could easily be freighted by rail. The theory is a good one.
But it must be recognised that not all industry coming to Bromelton will need to or want to use rail transport. A lot of it is likely to be container freight type industries which can travel by road - which means trucks. It’s an economic reality that as long as transporting by road is cheaper than by rail – road transport will continue.
The only road in the general location of Bromelton capable of sustaining any volume of road transport is the Beaudesert-Boonah Road. That leads to even more trucks through the centre of Beaudesert.
The future Mt Lindesay Highway, currently a line on the map, is the proposed new north/south link for Bromelton transport. Given the likely cost and the speed - or more accurately the slowness at which roads are built or upgraded - it could be many, many years away. This is the State Government’s responsibility.
In the meantime the Bromelton trucks will have to travel through Beaudesert.
The Beaudesert by-pass, that long talked about road that will remove farming and livestock trucks, the gravel trucks and soon the Bromelton trucks from the centre of town must now become a reality. This is Council’s responsibility.
In view of the fact that a State Government-sponsored development at Bromelton can now be the catalyst for getting the by-pass built, the incoming Council should call on the State Government to make a significant financial contribution to it’s construction.
Bromelton has been on the drawing board for 40 years and although it’s becoming a reality it’s still not going to happen overnight. This gives the incoming Council a small window in time and a great opportunity to build the by-pass, get the trucks out of town and start the restoration process back to a big, friendly country town that Beaudesert once was - all with State funds.
Astrid Kennedy.
Candidate for Division 4