After the successful completion of undergrounding the powerlines, removing the power poles, and installing new street lighting along Rainbow Beach’s main street, the community will, from tomorrow, enjoy having the lights turned on.

This work was the first stage of the Rainbow Beach ‘Our Towns’ Streetscape Revitalisation Project, a joint initiative of Gympie Regional Council and the Queensland Government, thanks to funding secured under the Works for Queensland Program and an additional contribution from Energex, and commenced in October 2019.

The second stage of works involves streetscape improvements at specific locations throughout the precinct and will deliver practical outcomes for key issues like increasing the parking supply and creating a safe and accessible main street for the tourism hot spot.

Council’s Manager of Planning Strategy and Major Projects, Chris Engle, said that the undergrounding of power was an important first step for this project.

“Beyond making Rainbow Beach’s main street more visually appealing, the improvements meet identified needs and priorities of the local community from the previous engagement on the overall Concept Master Plan”.

“The undergrounding of power has already made a huge impact on the look and functionality of the street and enables targeted improvements to be completed,” Mr Engle said.

Council is currently working through the preliminary design of the stage two works, with further community engagement to come. The project has a funding deadline for completion of the works by 30 June 2021.