April 20, 2015
The South Burnett Council plans to spend $2.2 million on repairing or replacing more of the region’s ageing timber bridges in its 2015-16 Budget.
But how many will be fixed depends on costs.
At today’s Council meeting, Councillors heard next year’s proposed program included the replacement of Weens Road Bridge at Gordonbrook and Hansens Gully Bridge at Mondure for an estimated $750,000 each; the replacement of the Bob Morgan Bridge at Stonelands with culverts for $350,000; and the rehabilitation of Webbers Creek Bridge and Kings Bridge East for $350,000 all up.
Councillors were also told that discussions have been held about different options to replace Campbells Road Bridge at Silverleaf which was closed late last year after a structural analysis.
The bridge has now been provisionally included in the 2015-16 bridge replacement program too, pending an assessment of Council’s financial capacity to fund it.
Today Councillors voted unanimously to call tenders for the replacement of Weens Bridge, Hansens Gully Bridge and Campbells Road Bridge using various options so a final assessment can be made.
One option the Council is known to be considering are pre-fabricated steel bridges rather than concrete structures.
Pre-fabricated steel bridges can be installed more quickly and at a lower cost than concrete bridges but Council officers have expressed concerns about whole-of-life costs.
Roads Portfolio chair Cr Damien Tessmann provided an update on the state of the region’s worst bridges after recent Level 3 structural assessments had been undertaken on them:
- Bob Morgan Bridge on Stonelands Road will remain closed to heavy vehicles; light vehicles can use an existing side track
- Campbells Road Bridge will remain closed, but the bridge is earmarked to be replaced
- Hansens Gully Bridge on Mondure Road currently has a 35 tonne limit, and is earmarked to be replaced
- Home Creek Loop Road Bridge has a 10 tonne limit, and will remain as it is for the present
- Horse Gully Bridge on the Gayndah-Hivesville Road has a 35 tonne limit; while the structure is in reasonable condition, it has a number of undersize components which limit its capacity
- Kings Road Bridge has a 15 tonne limit, and will remain as it is
- Webbers Bridge Road Bridge has a 20 tonne limit, and will remain as it is
- A bridge on Stumckes Road at Kinleymore and the Boughyard Creek Bridge on Ironpot Road are both on the verge of requiring load limits due to the condition of critical load-bearing components but will remain as they are for the present
Mayor Wayne Kratzmann said it was ironic that most of the bridges Council would be spending millions of dollars repairing or replacing over coming years were probably used by less than 1 per cent of the South Burnett’s population.
“However bridges are very important to our residents who use them, so we really have no choice in the matter,” he said.
