Three bridges in the Cootamundra and Gundagai areas will be replaced under the NSW Nationals in the state government’s $500 million Fixing Country Bridges program to better connect regional communities and increase resilience to natural disasters.
Two bridges on the Lucerndale Road and one on Carrs Road will be replaced through a combined $687,000 from the program.
NSW Nationals Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke said replacing old timber bridges meant improved community connections to schools, towns and jobs, allowing easier movement of freight and delivering better outcomes for road safety.
“This funding will enable councils to undertake this work which will improve access for local primary producers and motorists,” Ms Cooke said.
“It’s so important we do this work to improve local road safety and ensure our bridges are fit for purpose.”
Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council General Manager Phil McMurray said he was pleased with the funding.
“At the moment the bridges we are replacing are 70 years old, this work will mean we can have bridges designed for modern vehicle standards. This will give a huge economic boost to the local farmers and road users,” Mr McMurray said.
“We are delighted with this funding, we have four timber bridges left in our assets, three of them are being replaced in this program and the fourth through a federal program.”
Deputy Premier and NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro said round one of the program will see more than 400 ageing bridges replaced by safer, modern bridges that will better withstand events like floods and bushfires, and ease the burden of maintenance for local councils and ratepayers.
“Regional councils maintain more than 1800 timber bridges across the state, and we’re delivering on our promise to help them replace ageing bridges,” he said.
Successful applications are timber bridges, located on a council-managed road which are not a heritage or truss bridge and are a priority asset to the council. A second round of the program will be offered later this year.
For more information on the Fixing Country Bridges program and to view the full list of successful projects, please visit nswroads.work/fixingcountrybridges
