Ready to roll out Stage Two of Murganella Road

Stage One works on Murganella Road last year.

West Arnhem Regional Council (WARC) has received the green light from the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics to commence Stage Two of the Murganella Road project.
The Murganella Road Stage Two upgrade was one of 13 infrastructure projects across regional and remote areas of the Northern Territory to receive funding from round three of the Regional Economic Infrastructure Fund recently.
Preliminary discussions by the project team are already under way with the initial plans of Stage Two including a re-sheet of 25 kilometres of the poorest sections of road, upgrading floodways and repairing and replacing culverts where necessary.
While the project team is hoping to commence upgrades around April-May, the start of work will be determined by the end of the wet season when the team can be mobilised and the full scope of works are finalised.
Stage Two of the project follows on from works carried out on Murganella Road early last year which concentrated on road widening, rebuilding the road surface, replacing sandy sections with stable material, clearing the shoulders of trees and saplings, and re-establishing drainage.
As the only road servicing the area and used by the permanent residents of the Coburg and Garig Gunak Barlu National Park as well as Goulburn Island and Croker Island, the Murganella Road Stage Two upgrades are vital to the region.
The success of local tourism businesses owned and operated by Traditional Owners also heavily rely on the road being safe and accessible to visitors, with Traditional Owner and Wiligi Experience Out Of Arnhemland business operator Reuben Cooper reporting that the road has held up exceedingly well so far.
Local employment is also set to benefit from the Murganella Road Stage Two project which will be delivered by WARC employees, with the local workforce primarily comprised of local indigenous staff.
West Arnhem Regional Council Regional Manager Service Delivery Gordon Smith said the team were extremely proud of their achievements during Stage One of the upgrade and were recognised by their respective communities.
“All staff on the project contributed to the overall success - they gave every effort and produced a high quality of work. Their dedication to ensure the milestones were met and the project remained on track was commendable,” he said.
Gordon also said employees have been exposed to road construction practices, project delivery, and on the job training in a variety of road building activities and machinery operations.
Given the success of Stage One of the project and following advice of a successful application for this second round of funding, it is hoped Council can look forward to a third round which will see Stage Three continuing on with re-sheeting and drainage upgrade to the next 25 kilometres.