Queensland’s Alice River Bridge reconstruction works are set to be completed two months ahead of schedule, with the new bridge stronger than ever after flood water damaged the structure early in 2019.
The major project has been jointly-funded by the Commonwealth and Queensland governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Federal Minister for Natural Disaster and Emergency Management, David Littleproud, said crews had made excellent progress and were now on track to reopen the bridge to traffic this week.
The bridge was severely damaged by floodwaters during monsoonal rainfall in February, and the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads initially estimated that repairs could take up to six months to complete.
“This is great news for residents in the Hervey Range,” Mr Littleproud said.
“We thank residents and motorists for their patience while this work was carried out.
“The Commonwealth Government continues to help local communities rebuild critical infrastructure damaged by Queensland’s record breaking flood event.”
Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister, Mark Bailey, visited the site earlier this year to inspect progress and said once complete, more than 15,000 tonnes of material will have been filled on-site to strengthen the bridge structure.
“The backfilling around bridge piers, and at the bridge’s western approach, has been a mammoth task due to the severity of the erosion caused by floodwaters,” Mr Bailey said.
“Our crews have worked around the clock to make swift progress in not only repairing the bridge, but also preventing future erosion with rock protection also being placed onto the riverbed.
“Works have focussed on building the new road approach, allowing us to reopen the road to public access while final repair works are completed on-site in July.”
