Council is celebrating a standout result at the 2026 Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia Queensland and Northern Territory (IPWEA-QNT) Excellence Awards, with a major infrastructure project taking top honours
Council's Schreibers Road Bridge Rebuild project, delivered in partnership with NorthLane Consulting Engineers, was recognised, winning the best $5 million to $10million project award.
It's the sixth major award Council has received at the prestigious IPWEA Excellence Awards in recent years and acknowledges the successful restoration of a critical transport link following severe weather damage, helping reconnect residents and improving the resilience of the local road network for future weather events.
"This award for the Schreibers Road Bridge Project is fantastic recognition of the expertise, dedication and professionalism of our people and our project partners Northlane Consulting Engineers," Mr Sengstock said.
"The project and what it delivered for our community is another great example of Council's commitment to rebuilding stronger and more resilient infrastructure and highlights the quality of work being delivered across our organisation."
The project replaced a damaged culvert crossing with a new single-span bridge and was undertaken in stages to ensure the continued operation of a critical water supply pipeline servicing Noosa and surrounding communities.
In addition to restoring this vital transport link, the project has strengthened the resilience of essential infrastructure, increased waterway capacity and improved the road's flood immunity, helping the network better withstand future severe weather events.
"The easy option would have been to rebuild the old crossing the way it was, but our shared focus with Noosa Council on flood resilience meant pursuing a better outcome for Cooran," Director Northlane Consulting Engineers, Heath Jones said.
"Our in-house engineers led the design of a new bridge and built in two stages so a major water pipeline supplying Noosa and much of South East Queensland could be moved onto it without cutting off anyone's water supply.
"By managing the project from start to finish, we brought it in 17% under budget and gave Cooran a crossing that stays open in major floods, while better-protecting the region's water supply."
This latest success also continues Council's strong track record at the IPWEA-QNT Excellence Awards, following previous wins for the Tablelands Road Bridge replacement, Beckmans Road Intersection Upgrade, Noosa Biosphere Trail 5 Upgrade, Doggy Beach sand nourishment project and Black Mountain Road reconstruction.
Council's Disaster Reconstruction Coordinator Julie Calvert and Principal Infrastructure Planner Melissa Shepherd were also recognised at this year's awards, nominated as finalists for the Emerging Leader of the Year and Team Member of the Year respectively.
