Seven timber bridges to be replaced

Seven timber bridges in the Armidale region will be replaced by concrete structures during the next few months, with work starting on the Station Creek Bridge on Wongwibinda Road this week.

The $1.63 million program will replace bridges on Weirs Road, Rockvale Road, Puddledock Road and three on Wongwibinda Road by February, improving road safety and providing more efficient road links for the area.

“They will also be able to accommodate larger vehicles, which will benefit transportation for farmers and other industry,” Armidale Regional Council Mayor Simon Murray said.

The seven new bridges are part of a larger program by Council, funded through the Federal Government’s Federal Bridges Renewal Program and the NSW Government’s Stronger Regions Fund.

Site preparations began yesterday at the Station Creek Bridge and will include construction of a temporary access over the creek to minimise interruptions to road users.

“Temporary structures will be put in place at almost all of the sites because traffic would otherwise have lengthy detours that could add considerable time to their journeys,” Councillor Murray said.

“The only exception will be the Abington Creek bridge, where the new structure will have a different alignment over the creek. In that case, the existing bridge will remain in place and open to traffic while the new concrete structure is built.

“While the temporary structures at the other sites will add to the project cost, they are necessary to avoid significant inconvenience to local residents and other road users.”

The Station Creek Bridge project is expected to take about four weeks for the contractors to complete.

The order for the remaining projects is:

The timing for each project will depend on weather conditions and updates will be provided to the community to advise when each project is due to start and finish.

Published on 28 Aug 2018