Three timber bridges in the Bega Valley will be replaced with stronger, sturdier and more resilient concrete bridges under the NSW Government’s Fixing Country Bridges Program.
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway said more than $10 million will go to upgrading three ageing bridges.
“We are building what matters through the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government’s $500 million Fixing Country Bridges program. We’ve already rolled out funding for more than 452 bridges,” Mr Farraway said.
“These bridges will play a vital role in connecting rural and regional communities, like Bega to markets, jobs and essential services such as schools and hospitals.
“Our Fixing Country Bridges program is helping councils build bridges that are wider, higher and stronger and support greater load limits. Allowing greater volumes of freight will mean a boost for transport efficiencies and productivity in agriculture and other rural industries.
“Some bridges that have been replaced under this program withstood recent floods and continued to provide safe access for communities – had they still been made of timber, they would likely have been badly damaged or destroyed.
“The Murrabrine Creek Bridge to Cobargo (concept image above) received $5.2 million in joint Commonwealth and State Government funding replacing the 60-year-old timber bridge that was damaged in the Black Summer bushfires, providing a more resilient bridge for the community for future natural disasters.”
Bega Valley Shire Mayor, Russell Fitzpatrick, said the announcement was a big win for the community with previous rounds already making a difference to daily life.
“Bridges keep our community connected, after the weather we have experienced this year, it has become evident that we need to upgrade our infrastructure to be more resilient against mother nature,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.
“I’m very pleased that we will build stronger bridges that will keep our region safe in times of an emergency.”
More than $300 million was awarded to councils under Round 1 of the Program, to replace more than 400 timber structures across 53 LGAs, and in July last year, a further $49.25 million was provided to replace 34 bridges across 21 LGAs.
List of Bega Valley Shire Council projects:
Murrabrine Creek Bridge – Murrabrine Lane Cobargo
$2,930,610.10
Murrays Creek Bridge – Buckajo Road, Buckajo
$2,578,402.00
Ritchies Lagoon Bridge – Wallagoot Lane, Jellat
$4,628,236.00
Images: Bega Valley Shire Council
