{"id":353971,"date":"2024-10-23T18:10:36","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T08:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=353971"},"modified":"2024-10-23T19:23:40","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T09:23:40","slug":"council-defers-cushnie-bridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2024\/10\/23\/council-defers-cushnie-bridge\/","title":{"rendered":"Council ‘Defers’ Cushnie Bridge"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The location of the still-closed Home Creek Loop Road bridge (Map: SBRC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

October 23, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

The long-discussed South Burnett Regional Council plan to replace the timber Home Creek Loop Road Bridge at Cushnie with a concrete structure looks doomed, at least for the moment.<\/p>\n

This is despite funding being allocated to the project by both the State and Federal governments.<\/p>\n

The Home Creek Loop Road bridge was permanently closed in 2019 after a Level 2 bridge inspection.<\/p>\n

This inspection found a number of structural defects which affected the bridge\u2019s load-bearing capacity.<\/p>\n

In May 2020, council officers recommended that the bridge be demolished and replaced with a low-level floodway valued at about $100,000.<\/p>\n

“It is noted, that to replace this existing timber bridge with a modern equivalent would be in excess of $150,000 providing a level of service in excess of the remainder of the road. Council Officers see the construction of a floodway to be low risk to the public,” the report to the May 2020 Council meeting stated.<\/p>\n

Councillors voted to submit the bridge, along with another at Inverlaw, for funding under the Federal Government’s Bridge Renewal Program.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In December 2022, southburnett.com.au<\/strong> reported Council had received $583,680 from this Federal program to replace the one-lane Home Creek Loop Road bridge with a two-lane concrete structure, with the estimated total cost of the project to be $729,600.<\/p>\n

At that time, a Council spokesperson said a design and construction tender would be released “in the coming months” to engage a contractor “and all things going well, Council expects to commence works late 2024-25”.<\/p>\n

In the 2023-24 State Budget, the project was allocated $40,000 to complement the Federal Government funding and $146,000 from the South Burnett Regional Council.<\/p>\n

The SBRC earmarked $770,000 in its 2023-24 Budget for the bridge replacement.<\/p>\n

Council’s October meeting was told the estimated costs to replace the little-used bridge had blown out.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Councillors voted to “defer” the bridge replacement “due to industry cost escalation” but would “seek increased funding from eligible programs in the future”.<\/p>\n

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