DUCK Creek Road supporters from as close as Beaudesert and as far away as Doha have got behind a petition to reopen the important local route.
At time of print, the ‘Reopen Duck Creek Road in Scenic Rim’ petition had 1860 signatures.
Bron Manning, pictured, is one of many locals who relied on Duck Creek Road to get to work at O’Reilly’s.
Road campaign moves up a gear
ADVOCATES for reopening Duck Creek Road are getting behind a petition to amplify their voice and make sure they are not forgotten after years of setbacks.
Duck Creek Road has been closed since 2017, when ex-tropical Cyclone Debbie caused severe damage through flooding and landslips.
The road, which connects Beaudesert and O’Reilly’s via Kerry, is considered an essential route for local employment and safety, particularly during bushfire season.
Years of funding rejections and setbacks have bolstered supporters’ determination to get the road reopened. Now there are 1860 petition signatures, and counting, to prove it.
Local jobs rely on it
Bron Manning is one of many locals getting behind the petition.
“I used to travel to work at O’Reilly’s via Duck Creek Road for four years. Such a great area,” she said.
Tour operator Matt Kelly is another keen Duck Creek Road supporter.
“I live at O’Reilly’s and run my bike tour out on 17V through O’Reilly’s. It would be a huge boost for tourism and a safety feature if the one and only other road got blocked for whatever reason,” he said.
“It will definitely increase potential business for myself and the region, it has historic value and will just improve the local area, with a little bit of hard work. I’d do it myself if they’d let me.”
Pressure is on
When Mayoral hopefuls were questioned over reopening Duck Creek Road at Beaudesert’s Meet the Candidates night, all were in favour but also highlighted the challenges.
Mayoral candidate Jeff McConnell, who is the former Scenic Rim SES Local Controller, said it was needed for safety and worker access from O’Reilly’s to Beaudesert, but work needed to be done to protect it from irresponsible 4WD users destroying the road.
Incumbent Mayor Greg Christensen said the road had ‘value but also a price tag’ to rebuild and outside funding was needed to help Council deliver the project.
Mayoral candidate Tom Sharp pointed to federal government funding knocked back by Council in 2020 (Council’s comment at the time was that the project was not affordable with the funds available).
Sign the petition at www.petitiononline.uk/reopen_duck_creek_road_in_scenic_rim and follow the progress of the campaign at ‘Friends of Duck Creek Road’ on Facebook.
SUPPORTERS WEIGH IN
Break-out box
“I’m local and we have waited too long for this road to reopen. My family used to be able to drive 30 min to work on Green Mountains when the road was open. Now if they want to work there it will take the 2 1/2 hours. Our tourism campers cannot easily access the grades tracks in Lamington National Park. Safety in the event of an emergency also needs addressing. How do you evacuate 400 to 1500 people down one road that may have a landslip on it in an emergency without a second exit road.” – Sally Undery, Kerry.
“Many happy memories of travelling up and down to O’Reilly’s from Kerry Valley. Would love for others to enjoy the experience and be able to travel Duck Creek Road in the future.” – Matthew Robinson, Nindooinbah.
“I believe access will assist locals and tourism as it did in the past.” – Robyn Olsson, Darlington.
“Please keep open and maintain access roads. In mountain communities they are critical to safety, community and economy.” – Teresa Cause, Boonah.
“My father and uncle were involved in building this road and it would be great to see it return to what it was.” – Mechelle Fechner, Brisbane (part of local Fechner family).
“Connectivity is critical for our region and it’s incredibly disappointing that this road has been closed for so long, both for tourism and accessibility for locals.” – Sarah McNamara, Kerry.
“This is so bloody necessary after all this time, shame on Scenic Rim Council!” – Sarah Blunt, Gleneagle.
“The locals built this road, and it needs to be reopened” – Terri Thompson, Beaudesert.
“Our family has a strong connection with the history of O’Reilly’s going back to early settlement. Our visitors to the farm want to be able to visit O’Reilly’s but no longer do so because of the extended travel distance. The opportunity for us to sell our farm products to O’Reilly’s has been taken away by the closure of the road, as has the chance for our children to obtain work locally at O’Reilly’s as generations of local kids have done before them.
We believe it also poses a safety risk in the event of a natural disaster, of which we seem to have an increasing number.”- Kay Tommerup, Kerry.
