Spring has arrived but it’s not just the seasonal swooping magpies attracting attention overhead.
Soon you may spot (non-feathered) cranes on the skyline as your council continues to deliver projects across Ipswich – none more significant than the CBD redevelopment well underway.
At the end of August, your council signed a $140 million contract – the biggest in council history – with Hutchinson Builders to construct the new council administration building, library and civic plaza at the end of Nicholas Street.
These works are fully planned and budgeted for and I am confident council officers have reviewed every aspect of the project to ensure the best value possible for ratepayers.
After a decade of false starts, the community will finally see the city heart emerge as an inviting, modern space with works to reinstate Nicholas Street set for completion by Easter 2020, the new library expected to open a few months later followed by the new council administration building in 2021.
I encourage Ipswich people to visit the CBD to watch the cranes, shop or for a bite to eat at the nearby cafes and restaurants.
CBD traders have done it tough for too long under trying circumstances but I believe there’s now a bright light at the end of the tunnel.
To help on the journey, your council has launched a special ‘VIP Tradies Pack’ to encourage the 200 or so construction workers onsite over the next 24 months to buy their lunch or shop at participating local businesses.
Springfield Central businesses benefited from a similar scheme during construction of the Orion Shopping Centre.
The CBD redevelopment isn’t your council’s only transformational project.
In Rosewood, construction of the new two-storey library on John Street is scheduled to finish by year’s end for a planned opening in the first half of 2020.
This is a significant $6 million investment in the Rosewood community including a welcomed $2.7 million contribution from the State Government.
The library will be an important community facility, featuring an open plan reading area with a children’s space, a maker’s space and study rooms as well as plenty of books.
Residents will also be able to connect with council at the integrated customer service centre to pay bills, submit paperwork and lodge complaints.
Your council is also planning and delivering critical road infrastructure to improve safety and reduce traffic bottlenecks.
Three major projects underway in West Ipswich, One Mile and Leichhardt will significantly improve the corridor between Brisbane Street to the roundabout at Old Toowoomba and Toongarra Roads. The
Old Toowoomba Road project received State Government funding support.
Further east, council will soon begin realigning Marsden Parade to create a four-way signalised intersection with Brisbane and Gordon Streets to provide traffic an alternate north-south intersection to East Street.
And in the coming months, Community Information Sessions will be held to release the concept for council’s planned upgrade of the Springfield Parkway and Springfield-Greenbank Arterial.
Information sessions will also be held for the Redbank Plains Road Upgrade Stage 3 Project (Keidges Road to Kruger Parade).