Well, it rained all night and we are still here (wasn’t worried there – off hand, I don’t think there are any houses in Cedar Creek in danger of flooding) yet still flooded in. But we have photos of Upper Cedar Creek floodways (we are unable to get to Lower Cedar Creek unless someone would like to loan us a helicopter!)
Firstly, for the most excitement, here is the green bridge:
Covered in silt, with bits of the approaches missing and, 100 m down the creek, the 'temporary' edging that the council has left in place for the last year
I *think* the concrete siding has held up, but it will need to be inspected - the railings are well damaged, again.
The surface is covered in silt, so that will need scraping back (hello Moreton Bay Council! Can you hear me?)
Once again, where the tar reaches the concrete has taken major damage - please be very careful if you need to come into Cedar Creek!
The green bridge approach, damaged
At first inspection, it seems that the damage is all to the lower side of the bridge - the upper side looks ok. No telling what has washed out underneath, of course.
and now for the low bridge. These photos are taken at 9am this morning
at 40cm under, the low bridge is passable by 4wd and bigger at the moment
The low bridge is flowing well - flowing over the bridge, that is
And here is our creek height graph, from the wonderful BOM:
As you can see, the creek peaked at over 4 metres. I think our new rule of thumb is over 4 meters means damage to the Green Bridge surface...
Click the image to see the current graph
And here is our neighbours bridge again, just because it is so cool. As you can see, the creek is still roaring its way down its bed
The neighbours bridge is clear
Queensland, drought for 10 years, flooded the next!
By: Damian Seasaltstudios on January 25, 2012
at 10:59 am
Damian, I know – ridiculous isn’t it? But its nothing new – the poem “Said Hanrahan” dates from almost a hundred years ago and records just such dramatic changes. “We’ll all be rooned” indeed
By: Lea on January 25, 2012
at 11:12 am
I wonder how much the council has spent on these half-assed measures? They should do it once, do it right, and build a much bigger structure.
By: Scott on January 25, 2012
at 12:56 pm
They have a budget for ‘road improvements’ set to spent throughout the year, on specific identified points. Unfortunately, I don’t agree with their selection of points that need fixing
Where’s that letter…. $1.58mil allocated for early 2012 or sooner (August date on the letter) for reseal/reconstruct Cedar Creek Rd between properties 353 – 547 and 566 – 623 and outside 624 and between 683 – 744 and outside 788 Cedar Creek Rd and from Massey Creek Court to 889 Cedar Creek Rd (plus a couple of others).
I have queries it with them, especially the low bridge, but they say the low bridge is too expensive for the return.
In their defence, a lot of work was done on the green bridge since last Jan. (It had to be done twice as it washed away, but it was done)
By: Lea on January 25, 2012
at 1:01 pm
If council concretes about 10m either side of the green bridge then there would be less damage to deal with each time it floods. Maybe concrete guard rails instead of the metal ones would also hold up better.
By: Jane on January 27, 2012
at 8:41 am
Its a good idea, but they currently don’t have a good record for ‘good ideas’
By: Lea on January 27, 2012
at 9:00 am
I understand that developers upstream from Kirk Road crossing have been required to contribute to a fund to upgrade the crossing including one who has reportedly put in more than $0.54m!!! Where has this cash gone?
By: Cliff Willmett on January 29, 2012
at 9:30 am
Hi Cliff, thats a good question!
When the August letter listing work to be done on Cedar Creek Rd, I replied querying the lack of inclusion of the low bridge and got this reply:
19/09/11 1:32 PM
Your request for a higher bridge in Cedar Creek Road, Cedar Creek near Kirk Road has been considered by Council. Unfortunately the construction of a higher bridge at this location will not be a priority for Council in the foreseeable future. The main reason is that that Cedar Creek generally rises and falls quickly, and hence access is generally only delayed a relatively short time. Further to this, there are other locations along Cedar Creek Road that are similarly affected. Hence the benefit for the community from the construction of a higher bridge at this location is minimal.
from Kevin Prandolini, Principal Engineer Network Renewal
So its not going to happen. Yes, I would like to know where the money has gone too. I wonder what the accounting would show?
By: Lea on January 29, 2012
at 10:10 am