Bridge Gets A New Name

20161214 Kathy Duff Bridge — Happy to have their bridge back … at rear, Peter Enkelmann, Lance Ray, Brett Enkelmann, Paul Pratt and Candice Pratt and front, Leo Geraghty, Janelle Smith, Cr Kathy Duff, Stacey Pratt and Marg Enkelmann

December 15, 2016

Campbells Road Bridge at Silverleaf will have a new name soon … and locals who use it every day couldn’t be happier.

At Wednesday’s Council meeting, Councillors voted to accept a request from the Murgon Business and Development Association (MBDA) to name the bridge in honour of the person most responsible for getting it built: Deputy Mayor Kathy Duff.

The $1 million concrete bridge, which replaced an old wooden bridge across Barambah Creek, opened in May this year.

But the saga of the bridge’s replacement really began in 2013 when a routine inspection by Council officers led to the bridge having a 10-tonne load limit placed on it.

Then it was closed completely in January 2015 after another structural inspection found it had deteriorated to the point where it was unsafe to bear any loads at all.

The closure of the bridge meant its main users – local farmers – had to take a long detour to get their farm machinery across Barambah Creek.

So Cr Duff immediately began a campaign to have the bridge replaced.

But Council engineers, who had several other wooden bridges to replace at that time, ruled out any immediate action on the problem until funds became available.

However Cr Duff refused to let the matter drop and began exploring alternatives, including the idea of installing a temporary Bailey bridge across the creek until the Council’s budget situation improved.

And in August 2015 she got her wish when the Council put three bridges (including Campbells Road Bridge) out to tender and received a price that was almost $500,000 below their original estimates.

That deal – which effectively gave the Council three bridges for the price of two – led to the demolition of the old bridge and the construction of the newer, wider concrete one.

At the meeting which accepted the tender, former Mayor Wayne Kratzmann paid special tribute to Cr Duff, who had been “relentless” in campaigning to have the Campbells Road bridge replaced.

He was seconded by Cr Barry Green, who said he admired the way Cr Duff had pushed to have every possible option explored in her efforts to see the Silverleaf bridge re-opened.

Last December the Murgon Business and Development Association (MBDA) came up with the idea of seeing the bridge named in Cr Duff’s honour, but kept it a secret from her.

Instead, MBDA members contacted local farmers around the bridge to get their views about the idea, and to check if anyone had a prior claim on the bridge’s name.

It turned out the old bridge had never been named after anybody, and the farmers were so pleased with Cr Duff’s efforts to get their bridge back they supported the MBDA’s idea, too.

So did Cr Duff’s fellow Councillors, who kept any knowledge of the MBDA’s request from her until it turned up on Wednesday’s Council agenda papers.

Cr Duff was visibly moved by the unanimous support for a motion to rename Campbells Road Bridge to Kathy Duff Bridge, but also surprised.

“You usually have to die to have a bridge named after you,” she joked.

“But it’s a very great honour, completely unexpected, and I really do appreciate it.”

Later on Wednesday afternoon, MBDA representatives and local farmers gathered at the bridge to congratulate Cr Duff.

“When this bridge was closed it was just awful,” Marg Enkelmann told southburnett.com.au.

“We had to spend an hour and a half every time we wanted to get machinery from one side of the creek to the other, and it was costing us a fortune when we had to use stop and go men for some of the bigger machines.

“It affected every part of our lives. So having this bridge back was a real life-saver for us, and I just can’t thank Kathy enough for all the hard work she put in to get it.”

Son Brett agreed, saying the new bridge – which is almost a metre wider than the one it replaced – now allowed him to move about 98 per cent of his equipment across the creek.

“If I have to take the other 2 per cent around by the detour, that’s OK, I don’t mind that,” Brett said.

“It’s just so good to have this bridge back. And the way it’s built, it will last 100 years.”

Signage for the Kathy Duff Bridge will be placed near it in due course, and locals are planning a follow-up party when that occurs.

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