Infrastructure resilience work - bridges

Narooma’s Wagonga Scenic Drive winds its way through rural residential areas, agricultural land and state forest. The road is also a popular tourist route providing access to the upper waters of Wagonga Inlet. The road features five timber bridges, all at risk of fire and flood.

Replacing the bridges with more resilient structures will allow for safer and more reliable crossings for residents, tourists, delivery services, emergency services and maintenance staff. The likelihood of residents being trapped in or away from their homes will be significantly reduced as will the need for long detours.

We positioned the new bridges at Clarksons, Cobra and Cowdroys adjacent to the old bridges. Land ownership, heritage and environmental constraints determined that the alignment of Grumleys and Punkalla bridges could not be changed.

Contractors have built the new Cowdroys, Cobra, Grumleys and Clarksons bridges and they are now trafficable. We have raised the level of the road approaching each bridge to cater for the increase in bridge height.

Work has begun at Punkalla Bridge and the road is closed. Details are available on our Road closures web page.

Cowdroys Bridge: under construction in March 2022

Cobra Bridge: Underway in May 2022

Grumleys Bridge: Almost finished in December 2022

The Tilba Tilba Creek Bridge is located on Corkhill Drive; a major tourist route providing access to the historic Tilba villages and district as well as Gulaga National Park. We have identified the bridge replacement as a priority due to its declining condition and high volume of traffic.

We have completed design for a new concrete bridge that will result in safer, quieter, and more reliable access for residents, tourists, and school buses. The bridge will be stronger, longer, and wider and include a shared pathway to provide a safe crossing area for pedestrians and cyclists.

We are in the process of consulting with the Tilba community and expect to order the bridge components shortly. The new bridge will be installed once the old bridge is removed, minimising impact on the surrounding area by maintaining the current road alignment. Consequently, through traffic will not be possible for the duration of the project.

We expect the work to take approximately two months to complete. Once we have locked in dates we will inform the community and provide directional signage.

Tilba Tilba Creek Bridge: Located 600m from the Princes Highway, just before Foxglove Gardens and the turnoff to the sports grounds

The Potato Point Bridge is located on a road providing the only two-wheel drive access to a popular beach and holiday park.

Our contractors have replaced the timber bridge using concrete with a stainless-steel shell to provide protection against the harsh saltwater environment. We chose to use the innovative technique in order to significantly increase the life of the asset.

Potato Point Bridge: The old timber bridge crosses a coastal creek

Temporary crossing: Contractors demolished the old bridge and provided a temporary structure to retain access to the holiday park

Potato Point Bridge rebuilt: We opened the new bridge to traffic in late 2022

Silo Farm Bridge crosses the Tuross River and is an integral part of the access route for two dairy farms west of Bodalla. The bridge is typically submerged several times per year due to high river flows during wet weather. Not only are residents and emergency services unable to get in or out of the area, but milk trucks cannot access the dairy farms. The milk cannot be stored on-site for more than two days, and farmers are left with no choice but to dump thousands of litres of milk. The result is a loss of income for the farmers, loss of milk supply for the community and adverse impacts on the local environment.

We are replacing Silo Farm Bridge with a higher structure to improve access during future floods. During the February/March 2022 flood the dairy farmers dumped 107,097L of milk due to a lack of access. If the same event were to occur with the new bridge in place, the farmers would be able to store their milk for the brief time until the bridge was again trafficable.

Contractors began building the new bridge in February 2023.

Silo Farm Bridge: The low-lying timber bridge often goes underwater when it rains