Building bridges for communities

Laura Creek Bridge

24th Sep 2024

The Australian and New South Wales governments continue to partner with Armidale Regional Council to deliver targeted road safety improvements – with $8 million in bridge upgrades now complete and open to traffic.
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 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.
Armidale Regional 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.
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 Australian Government is delivering significant funding increases to support local councils progress their priority projects.
This includes progressively increasing the Roads to Recovery program from $500 million to $1 billion per year, with over $12.4 million flowing to Armidale Regional Council over the next five years – a boost of $4 million thanks to the Albanese Government.
The Road Black Spot Program is also increasing from $110 million to $150 million per year, and $50 million has been added to the new $200 million per year Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program.
Armidale Regional Council Acting General Manager, Annie Harris has acknowledged the funding support from the NSW and Australian Governments.
“These bridges are a vital lifeline to many parts of our community because they support farmers, agricultural freight as well as local tourism.
“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.
“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.
“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.”

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