End of an era: Last timber bridge upgraded

Published on 30 June 2021

Cr Smith & Ken O'Dowd on Louisa Creek Bridge

It’s the end of an era with the last timber road bridge on the Rockhampton Regional Council road network upgraded, thanks to funding from the Federal Liberal and Nationals Government’s Bridges Renewal Program.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Barnaby Joyce said it was great to see such an achievement as a result of Round 4 funding from the program.

“The last remaining timber bridge in the region, on Glenroy Road over Louisa Creek, saw the conclusion of an upgrade project more than 13 years in the making,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

“This is yet another great local example of how our record $110 billion infrastructure investment plan is delivering crucial local projects across Australia, which is laying the foundations for economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Federal Member for Flynn Ken O’Dowd said over 20 wooden bridges have been replaced as part of Council’s broader upgrade project.

“The Bridges Renewal Program is a key Federal Government initiative to upgrade and replace bridges to enhance access for local communities and facilitate higher-productivity vehicle access,” Mr O’Dowd said.

“It’s to continue delivering crucial local projects such as this that the Government committed $676 million from 2015-16 to 2023-24, with an ongoing commitment of $550 million from 2024-25 to 2029-30.”

Rockhampton Regional Council Infrastructure Councillor Ellen Smith said Council is extremely grateful to have received over $400,000 in funding from the Australian Government as part of the project.

“The old wooden bridge required regular maintenance to keep it in a safe and functioning condition,” Cr Smith said.

“We have replaced this with a wider, new concrete structure that will improve access, reliability and operational safety.

“By replacing the bridge over Louisa Creek we have been able to increase the load limit from 15 tonnes to 70 tonnes.

“The increased load limit means we have been able to re-establish the B-double access route over the bridge for heavy vehicles.”

The $800,000 project was jointly funded by the Australian Government under Round 4 of the Bridges Renewal Program and the Rockhampton Regional Council.

More information on the Bridges Renewal Program is available at https://investment.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure_investment/bridges_renewal.aspx.