New date set for end to marathon Barron River bridge investigation
Traffic using the beleaguered bridge across the Barron River at Kuranda will yet again be reduced to a one-lane snail trail to enable road crews to carry out more testing.
Cairns
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Traffic using the beleaguered bridge across the Barron River at Kuranda will yet again be reduced to a one-lane snail trail to enable road crews to carry out more testing.
For close to three years structural question marks have hung over the 60-year-old bridge.
Rolling partial closures have been in place since inspections identified fatigue cracks in some steel elements of the bridge in October 2020.
A study to determine if the bridge was safe was originally expected to be completed in late 2022 but a completion date was later revised and was due to be complete early this year.
On February 20 Transport and Main Roads advised the bridge would operate as a single lane road until March 2.
“The works are part of an ongoing testing and maintenance program to ensure the bridge remains safe,” a TMR spokesman said.
“We thank motorists for their patience while we carry out these important works. We are undertaking a planning study to investigate long-term solutions for the bridge.”
The planning phase of the investigation is expected to be complete in March, according to TMR.
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Originally published as New date set for end to marathon Barron River bridge investigation
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