By Chloe Chomicki,Meghan Dansie

Copyright abc

Tourist town residents are angry at the delay in rebuilding damaged roads six months after north Queensland’s record wet season.

An annual rainfall record was set in Townsville in April after 2,419.8 millimetres of rain was recorded in four months.

The impact was severe in the rainforest community of Paluma, north of the city, where landslips took out Mount Spec Road, the main access to the tiny tourist town.

Only permit-holders can drive on the road, which has crippled tourism operators who rely on visitors.

Paluma outdoor adventure business owner Sam Stedman said he had to wear the cost of bussing school groups on a dirt-road detour to keep camps operating this year.

“That cost was better than having no business at all and it kept the students coming through the door,” he said.

Queensland’s main roads department appointed contractors to repair the road in September.

Works are set to begin this month, but above-average rainfall is expected from mid-October and the community fears there will be further damage to Mount Spec Road before works finish.

“We do know it will be a long time for the road to be repaired,” Mr Stedman said.

“We are really hoping that we aren’t in for the biggest wet season so that doesn’t delay it any further.”

Island eyesore

Even less progress has been made at Townsville’s primary tourism drawcard, Magnetic Island.

A crucial bridge was destroyed during the wet season and, while it has been demolished, the design for its replacement will not be finished until December.

The slow pace of the Townsville City Council-led project has frustrated residents who watched the Ollera Creek bridge near Ingham replaced within a fortnight.

“Twelve months to get a bridge design — on the Bruce Highway they can do it in 11 days,” island resident Mary Vernon said.

Paul O’Neill’s street has become the official detour for traffic and he is concerned the island’s image is suffering.

“It is what it is — no-one can change the fact that an old bridge got washed away,” he said.

“[But] I think they are lacking in response time.

“Treat Magnetic Island like the jewel of Townsville, as they call it — not a lump of quartz.”

Rainfall repeat

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Shane Kennedy said a dry start to October would not last in north Queensland.

“Mid-October through to December and into the second half of the wet season, there is quite a high chance of above-average rainfall,” he said.

He said warmer ocean temperatures around Australia had led to a negative Indian Ocean Dipole, which increased the chance of flooding.

James Cook University disaster studies coordinator Yetta Gurtner raised concerns about the impact on small communities waiting for infrastructure repairs.

She said risks of isolation and poor access to food supplies were higher in communities with outstanding damage.

“Those communities, they will actually be more vulnerable this time,” Dr Gurtner said.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads said redeveloping Mount Spec Road would not be quick due to the scale of the damage and the complexity of the repairs needed.

Townsville City Council said it was working through mangrove and fishway constraints to repair the Magnetic Island bridge.