Ratepayers will foot the $500,000 bill to fix the Swan Hill drag strip to bring the city’s quarter mile drag strip to Australian racing standards.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, Swan Hill councillors unanimously resolved to spend the half-a-million dollars required to grind the concrete racing surface, lay new sections of asphalt and improve track drainage at the Chisholm Reserve complex.
The work, which will start immediately, aims to bring the drag strip to Australian National Drag Racing Association (ANDRA) standards so that drag racing can return to Swan Hill.
“We are absolutely committed to drag racing here in Swan Hill and to making sure this is a top quality, national race track,” Mayor Les McPhee said.
The drag strip, which received $2.6 million funding from the State Government and council, was completed in time for the inaugural meeting last November.
On the day of the official opening event, drag racers voiced concerns about the finished surface of the drag strip, particularly that the concrete surface appeared to have lipped at each joint along the strip.
To read more of this story, grab a copy of Friday’s Guardian (March 24).
