The project took four months to complete and allows for all weather access to Willeroo Pit, facilitating the expansion of New Acland Mine Stage 3.

The latest achievement comes less than five months after New Hope Group extracted first coal from the Queensland Government approved Stage 3 site.

New Acland Mine General Manager, Dave O’Dwyer said more than a dozen local subcontractors and suppliers including Coops Queensland, Min Staff Survey Toowoomba, Boral Oakey, Black Toyota Oakey, Loughlin Crane Hire and the Oakey Motor Inn played an essential role in building the crossing and supporting the workforce.

“Together with head contractor, Pentacon, we promised to employ local contractors and workers, and that’s exactly who we sourced to build the Lagoon Creek Crossing,” Mr O’Dwyer said.

“We’re proud to be a leading employer in the region, by offering well-paid, local jobs to hard-working Queenslanders.

“For the past 17 years we’ve been talking about Stage 3, and now we’re finally getting on with the job, first by extracting and shipping coal, and now by constructing essential infrastructure projects so the Stage 3 expansion can continue.

“The latest milestone validates the efforts of so many workers and community leaders, who stood beside New Hope Group as we secured all the necessary Stage 3 approvals from the Queensland Government.”

At the peak of construction, there will be approximately 600 local workers at New Acland Mine. Throughout the life of the project, the permanent workforce will be approximately 400 full-time roles, made up of Darling Downs locals.

Unlike a lot of other mines in Queensland, New Acland Mine does not engage fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers, with more than 90% of the current workforce living within 50km of the site.

Local workers, contractors and local businesses will benefit to the tune of $1B over the life of the New Acland Mine Stage 3 project.