MINISTER for Roads and Freight Duncan Gay and member for Burrinjuck Katrina Hodgkinson will officially open the new $5.6 million James Park Bridge over the Crookwell River tomorrow.
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Minister Gay said the new bridge was well overdue.
“The old bridge was a single lane bridge designed for heavy vehicle loads much less than what is carried by modern vehicles,” Minsiter Gay said.
“The bridge now has the capacity for larger trucks, including Higher Mass Limit and this is great news for the community and businesses.”
Minister Gay said the NSW Government provided $5.6 million as part of the $209.5 million Bridges for the Bush program for approach roadwork and replacing the old Timber Truss Bridge with a new structure.
“The new Crookwell Bridge is part of the NSW Government’s Bridges for the Bush program, which invests in 17 key bridges in regional NSW,” Minister Gay said.
“The program was launched in 2012 to improve freight productivity and road safety, and focuses on the replacement and upkeep of bridges in regional areas.
ocal Bridges could be fast-tracked under Country Bridge Solutions
THE Nationals Member for Burrinjuck, Katrina Hodgkinson has said the replacement of old council owned timber bridges in the local electorate could be fast-tracked as part of the NSW Government’s new, innovative program Country Bridge Solutions,
“This is a great initiative which delivers a standard bridge design making it easier and cheaper for NSW councils to replace old and worn structures,” Katrina said.
“Many councils struggle with both the design and engineering aspects of replacing an old bridge and this ‘cookie cutter’ method will help local councils design and build new bridges on their local roads.”
“We want to help councils get more value for money by providing smart, cost-effective bridge building solutions,” Katrina said.
Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) has developed an initial design for a pre-stressed concrete modular bridge system to deliver structures with a maximum span length of 12 metres; dimensions which suit the vast majority of old timber bridges in the state.
“Local councils can nominate timber bridges they would like replaced as a high priority.
“The NSW Government will work closely with regional councils to develop a detailed inventory on the condition of nominated timber bridges and then generate a priority list focused on improving road safety and removing road freight pinch points,” Katrina said.
The NSW Government expects the inventory of council nominated timber bridges to be finalised by the end of January 2015.
