Toowoomba Regional Council’s Cressbrook Dam Safety Improvement Project (CDSIP) team recently partnered with the Queensland Police Service (QPS) to enhance officers’ understanding of site access during the mammoth project’s construction phase.
QPS officers from stations including Crows Nest, Esk, Goombungee, Highfields, and Toowoomba spent the day testing their vehicles to gain a better understanding of the terrain and time required to reach the remote project location.
Deputy Mayor and Strategic Water Planning and Capital Delivery portfolio spokesperson, Councillor Rebecca Vonhoff said building a strong relationship between the CDSIP team and QPS was essential in any situation requiring a coordinated response.
“Connecting with police early is critical as plans progress for constructing the complex safety improvement project,” Cr Vonhoff said.
“The majority of the dam’s access roads are rough and are only suitable for 4WDs. One access road is also very steep.
“Being prepared for emergencies and having appropriately considered and robust response procedures are all part of ensuring worker safety, especially for larger, complex and remote projects,” she said.
During the works, the project team will monitor road traffic to and from the dam.
“Staff working on the CDSIP will travel privately to Lake Cressbrook using public roads in the Toowoomba Region. These workers will then travel by boat to the dam wall. Heavy vehicles will bring equipment and materials to the dam wall using local roads in the Somerset jurisdiction,” said Cr Vonhoff.
QPS officers were shown where the future batch plant will be located and where other large equipment and machinery will operate.
The CDSIP team is also collaborating with the Queensland Ambulance Service, Queensland Fire Department, and LifeFlight to enable crews to test site access using their chosen equipment.
