Council builds prosperity and bridges
Kyogle Council has been growing the prosperity of the local government area while completing a once-in-a-lifetime bridge building program, Kyogle Council Mayor Kylie Webster said today.
“As of today, Kyogle Council has replaced 89 bridges in three years, and physically built 81 new bridges,” Cr Webster said.
“That equates to almost three new bridges built every month.
“That is a truly amazing effort and one which the whole Council is incredibly proud of. It’s even more amazing when you consider that our staff have simultaneously been working to recover from the catastrophic flooding which occurred in 2022.
“I don’t know of another small rural council which could have achieved what this council has achieved.
“We are always saying that Kyogle Council punches above its weight, and this is proof of that.”
Council received $40.419 million through the State Government’s Fixing Country Bridges (FCB) Program to part-fund the replacement of 77 of the bridges (which included eight bridge to culvert projects) plus a multi-million-dollar funding package from the Australia Government to build other 12 new bridges.
Council also employed local contractors to design and construct another six bridges under the Fixing Country Bridges Program. Four of the six bridges have been completed so far.
“Council’s bridge renewal program has been incredibly successful, and it has meant that our residents and primary producers no longer have to contend with load limited bridges that impact their ability to run their farms” Cr Webster said.
“Back in 2020 before we started our bridge renewal program, Council had four bridges closed due to structural failures, 25 load limited bridges and 125 timber bridges, of which more than 70 were 70 plus years old.
“We now have just a handful of aging timber bridges to replace and our communities enjoy safer, more reliable transport routes.”
The completion of the new Suffolks bridge on Bean Creek Road this week means Council has finished 77 bridges it committed to build under Round 1 of the Fixing Country Bridges program.
However, the job’s not over yet.
Council has funding to replace another 16 bridges, including Montgomerys Bridge and the Risk Road Bridge, and when all those bridges are finished, Council will have no more aging timber bridges to replace.
“By delivering a safe, reliable bridge network, Council has provided community access and helped drive growth in the agriculture, rural industries and tourism sectors” Cr Webster said.
“We’ve helped build prosperity on the back of building bridges.”
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