$6.5M in Council budget to build Park Road boardwalk

Council’s draft 2017/18 budget includes more than $6.5M to upgrade the Park Road boardwalk between Little Cove and the entrance to Noosa National Park.

“This is a real signature project in the upcoming budget,” Mayor Tony Wellington said. “The headland section of the Noosa National Park is the most visited national park in Queensland. Every year, well over a million people walk along the boardwalk between Hastings Street and the park. It is an absolutely key piece of local infrastructure.

“The first stage of the boardwalk, from First Point to Little Cove, was replaced under the amalgamated council. The rest of it is rapidly deteriorating and requires regular upkeep. 

“With design work complete, this funding will allow us to go out to tender and begin work. Plainly we will have to juggle most of the work to avoid peak holiday periods, so the whole thing may not be completed until mid to late 2018.”

Councillor Brian Stockwell is a member of the project reference group. “Community organisations, residents and Tourism Noosa have been on board throughout the design process, making valuable contributions to the reference group,” he said. “The end result will be very stylish but also very Noosa. The low-impact construction technique will create viewing areas and places to stop and contemplate. 

“There are some significant challenges in building the boardwalk. These include minimal disturbance of the vegetation and also the necessary temporary closure of one lane of Park Rd and other traffic diversions. But the end result will be a walkway that will add to Noosa’s iconic status.”

The $6.5M project is part of a $24M capital works program included in the draft budget, to be ratified at a Special Meeting on June 29.

22 June 2017