The following items were addressed at the Ordinary Meeting of Mareeba Shire Council on Wednesday, 19 December 2025.
Walsh Street Safety Improvement Works Scheduled for 2026
At the December Ordinary Council meeting, Mareeba Shire Council awarded the tender for the Walsh Street Upgrade Project, located between the Herberton Street and Rankin Street roundabouts.
Mareeba Shire Mayor Angela Toppin said the project will enhance safety for traffic and pedestrians near Coles and K-Hub as well as improving the capacity of the underground stormwater system.
“Council is looking forward to improving the safety of this very busy section of Walsh Street, particularly the traffic flows and the pedestrian crossing,” said Mayor Toppin.
The project will:
- Reconfigure the Walsh Street / Rankin Street roundabout to improve access for heavy vehicles.
- Install a centre-median pedestrian refuge to reduce vehicle stopping times at the crossing between K-Hub and the Coles shopping centre, enhancing pedestrian safety and easing peak-hour congestion.
- Upgrade streetlighting to improve safety at the pedestrian crossing.
- Install vehicle detector loops in the asphalt on the Rankin Street approach to the Byrnes Street traffic lights.
- Upgrade stormwater infrastructure to increase capacity, capturing runoff at the Herberton Street end of Walsh Street and directing it to the Hastie Street intersection at St Thomas’s Catholic Primary School via Rankin Street.
- Enhance landscaping by establishing garden areas and related infrastructure in the centre median island, along with planting new street trees on the footpath.
The tender for the Walsh Street Upgrade Project has been awarded to HEH Civil Pty Ltd for the amount of $3,997,659.29 (excl GST).
This project is supported by the Australian Government’s Roads to Recovery Program, the Queensland Government’s Transport Infrastructure Development Scheme (TIDS) and Mareeba Shire Council.
Works are expected to start in the first half of 2026.
Tinaroo Creek Road – Ada Creek Crossing Update
At the December Ordinary Council meeting, Mareeba Shire Council awarded the tender for the Ada Creek Crossing upgrade on Tinaroo Creek Road, Mareeba.
Mareeba Shire Mayor Angela Toppin said these essential works will improve safety at the creek causeway and will raise the crossing height to enhance flood resilience.
“This section of Tinaroo Creek Road is vulnerable to flooding during the wet season which impacts access for residents and businesses including construction and agricultural,” said Mayor Toppin.
During the works, a side-track will be established to ensure there is continued access during the project.
The existing single lane causeway will be removed and replaced by a two-lane crossing which will be 1.8m high with box culverts installed to allow the water to flow and vehicles to cross safely during the wet season.
The tender for the Ada Creek Crossing upgrade on Tinaroo Creek Road has been awarded to Northern Civil Earthworks Pty Ltd trading as Terranovus Civil for $1,993,259.65 (excl GST).
This project is jointly funded by the Australian Government’s Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program and Mareeba Shire Council.
Works are expected to start by July 2026.
-Ends-