Traffic is flowing over Lanes Bridge once again – albeit via one lane only – after a full closure was put in place on Tuesday this week. This is good news for those in the northern half of the Shire thinking of heading to Bowra for their Big Deal tomorrow.
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The starting date of construction for the replacement Lanes Bridge is fast approaching.
Council’s assistant manager for engineering services Paul Gallagher said with council last week approving Civil Sydney Pty Ltd as contractors for the piling, that date is now around four to six weeks away, in October.
He said that in readiness for the first stage of the build, when the bridge would be reduced to one lane and a different stress load therefore placed on the structure, “staff conducted an inspection of the bridge to plan some additional bracing”.
“The inspection revealed that two girders were at a point where they required replacing as well as some cross-bracing to tighten the substructure. This is not unusual for an old timber bridge near the end of its asset life.”
The partial closure – one lane only, with traffic lights and a 20 tonne load limit – will be in place from now until the new concrete bridge is open to traffic, with temporary notified full closures occurring as needed.
Mr Gallagher said the 20 tonne load limit is a requirement for reducing the bridge to one lane, but that there would only be a few vehicles affected by it.
“The 20 tonne load limit will have an effect obviously on larger vehicle movements such as logging trucks and the milk tanker, however we are advised that it will have a minimal effect on the milk tanker as they use an alternative route and the crossings at the bridge are infrequent. The load limit is suitable to allow the school buses to cross the bridge,” he said.
While the partial closure comes a little earlier than expected, it now allows council workers time to perform preconstruction tasks prior to the piling contractors arriving.
One of those tasks will include partially demolishing half of the bridge.
Mr Gallagher said he hopes this extra time will allow the community to get used to the one-lane arrangement.