Pollocksford Road Bridge construction to commence mid 2025
The closure of a Gnarwarre bridge meant the time it took one grandma to drive to see her family tripled. Now, a timeline for works to fix it has been revealed.
Geelong
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Construction to fix a bridge that has been causing headaches for locals for months is not expected to begin until mid-2025.
The Pollocksford Road Bridge was closed in April due to structural issues.
The Surf Coast Shire council has announced that planning for the bridge, connecting Barrabool Rd, Gnarwarre with the Hamilton Highway near Stonehaven, is now underway.
Council workers are working with structural engineers to develop plans to replace the deck of the bridge.
In March a structural assessment of the bridge was undertaken by engineers.
It found issues identified by a previous inspection had deteriorated more quickly than expected, impacting the integrity of the bridge deck.
A speed restriction of 10 km/h and three-tonne load limit was implemented.
However, heavy vehicles ignored these restrictions, which forced the closure of the bridge.
For Julie Oataway, the bridge’s closure means her usual 20-minute drive to babysit her grandkids now takes an hour.
“The sooner they get that bridge going the better, it’s just so inconvenient,” Ms Oataway said.
“It does give me some hope that they are in the planning stages but gee you have to be patient.”
Chris Pike, the general manager of placemaking and environment at Surf Coast Shire, said council understood bridge’s extended closure has been an inconvenience for locals.
“We thank the community for their patience as we have worked through this project,” he said.
“Once we have completed designs and a contractor has been appointed, we will share the works timelines with the community.
“We don’t expect to know this information before March 2025 with works to start in mid 2025.”
Once works are complete a load limit of 20 tonne will still be in place, allowing buses and cars towing horse floats to use the bridge again.
Larger trucks will still not be allowed to use the bridge.
The bridge is on the border of Surf Coast Shire and Golden Plains Shire and the project will be between the two councils.
satria.dyer-darmawan@news.com.au
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