Armidale Regional Council has delivered $8 million in bridge upgrades across the local government area.
Ageing bridges at Laura Creek, Boorolong Creek and Bakers Creek in the Armidale region have been replaced with modern concrete structures, which will improve road safety, and boost flood resilience during natural disasters, the Council said in a statement.
“These bridges are a vital lifeline to many parts of our community because they support farmers, agricultural freight as well as local tourism,” said Council Acting General Manager, Annie Harris.
“The construction of these new bridges is a direct investment in our community’s future. They now provide a safe and reliable route for commuters and demonstrate our unwavering commitment to building resilient infrastructure.”
Armidale Regional Council Project Manager – Capital Works, Kos Weerasinghe said the
new bridge structures have been designed to withstand a 1-in-100-year flood event and are also designed for increased fire resistance to withstand intense bushfire.
“The new precast and prestressed concrete bridges have reduced maintenance costs compared to the old timber bridges and have excellent durability, allowing them to withstand environmental factors such as floods and bushfires,” said Mr Weerasinghe.
“Other benefits of the new bridges include the reduced need for repairs, inspections, and fewer disruptions to the transport network which will result in lower operational costs over the asset’s lifecycle.”
The upgrades were supported by $4.2 million from the Australian Government’s Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program, and $4.2 million under Round 1 of the NSW Government’s Fixing Country Bridges Program.
The Council undertook assessments of all old timber bridges in 2017, with assessors recommending renewing deteriorated old timber bridges to ensure they did not fail or require closure.
“We have been implementing a Bridge Renewal Strategy since 2017 and we have been working very hard to progressively replace the aged timber bridges throughout the region with new concrete structures,” said Ms Harris.
“With 31 structures originally identified under this program of works, we are thrilled to have completed 16 construction upgrades. As we are today, there are 15 timber bridges remaining.
Council is currently in the process of replacing three more timber bridges and a culvert, supported by over $4.5 million under Round 2B of the NSW Government’s Fixing Country Bridges Program.
“The NSW Government is pleased to help Armidale Regional Council improve its infrastructure assets in the long term,” said NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Jenny Aitchison.
“These three new concrete bridges are built stronger and better than the old timber ones, using modern engineering methods and materials. This is vitally important to ensure they are more resilient through natural disasters.
“The importance of bridges cannot be underestimated. They keep people connected to the facilities of their nearest town and provide emergency services and school buses with safe and reliable access.
“It is great to see all three levels of government working together to invest in critical transport infrastructure in regional NSW – like bridges – that will allow more efficient freight transport of produce, which in turn help reduce heavy vehicle traffic volumes in the region.”
