New bridges a lifeline for rural communities

They have been decimated by fire and flood, but now two rural bridges will get a proper upgrade

The Clouds Creek Bridge which was severely damaged by fire. Photo: Clarence Valley Council

It has been a long wait for residents in the outlying areas of the Clarence Valley to have a proper access, with both flood and fire destroying vital bridge crossings.

However, they will be on their way to repair, with council has now awarded tenders to replace severely damaged Clouds Creek Bridge and Chevalley’s Bridge.

“We have received more than $3m of Bushfire Recovery funding to replace these bridges, funding that is covered by Natural Disaster declarations under State Government guidelines,” Director of Works & Civil at Clarence Valley Council Jamie Fleeting said

“The initial assessment of Chevalley’s Bridge was to determine the costs of replacing or repairing the bridge. It was established that a complete replacement made from reinforced concrete was the most feasible option.

“The bushfire funds only covered the value of a single lane replacement bridge, so we accessed further funding through the NSW Government’s Fixing Country Bridges program to cover 50 per cent of the new bridge. This has enabled us to replace the single lane, timber bridge with a more suitable two-lane concrete structure.”

Mr Fleeting said the five-span Clouds Creek Bridge was a similar story.

“It was also damaged beyond repair in the 2019 fires.,” he said. “We installed a temporary low-level crossing to enable the road to reopen, however, this was washed away shortly afterwards when flooding impacted the creek. The road was reopened again once the temporary structure was replaced.

“It is an exciting announcement for the community to know that these essential assets are in the works schedule for replacement.”

Mr Fleeting said the robust, concrete bridges will be better able to withstand any future fires and floods and are an important step along the road to recovery for these fire-affected communities.