It was a special day for Mareeba Shire Deputy Mayor, Cr Alan Pedersen when his hard work and advocacy for the rural and regional communities of the shire was acknowledged at the opening of the Tate River Crossing.
Cr Pedersen joined Member for Cook, Ms Cynthia Lui and Mayor Tom Gilmore to officially open the crossing which was jointly funded by the Queensland Government and Mareeba Shire Council.
The causeway was officially named the ‘ALAN PEDERSEN CROSSING’ in recognition of Cr Pedersen, who lobbied for years for the upgrade of the causeway to improve accessibility for those living in remote areas.
Mayor Tom Gilmore said by the end of this term Cr Pedersen will have served for 15 years on Council and has been very passionate about supporting the remote areas of the Shire.
“During that period he has been an extremely vocal advocate for the rural and regional community of our shire, arguing successfully for budget consideration of road maintenance and capital works; but more particularly for better access during the wet season, and for putting concrete bases in gullies and creeks,” he said.
The new Tate River Crossing has improved the accessibility for cattle stations transporting cattle to the sale yards. The crossing provides the only access across the Tate River, connecting 17,000 head of cattle to sale yards in Mareeba and Malanda.
“The agribusiness community will also have more reliable and better access to every day needs such as food, fuel and mail, as well as access to emergency services,” Cr Gilmore said.
The project was jointly funded by the Queensland Government’s Community Resilience Fund, Building our Regions program and Mareeba Shire Council using the Federal Government’s Roads to Recovery program.
“We must of course express our deep appreciation to both the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments for their generous contribution. Without their funding, this project would simply have not been possible.”
Member for Cook, Cynthia Lui said while there have been no recorded accidents on the causeway, the increase in width and improved alignment has enabled road trains transporting cattle to fit both sets of tyres comfortably along the entire length of the crossing, reducing the risk of catastrophe.
