Update: May flood causes delay to new bridge at Melville

Maitland City Council can advise the partially constructed bridge at Melville has sustained damage following May’s flooding event, which will delay the project’s completion date.

The former river crossing is being replaced by a new bridge as part of an $8.2 million project, jointly funded by the Council and the NSW and Australian Governments.

As the bridge is only partially constructed and not yet connected to land on either side, the structure was unable to withstand the impact of the flood.

While the full extent of damage is still unknown, this has resulted in erosion to the bridge abutments, displacement of the bridge deck beams and large amounts of flood debris on site.

This will delay construction and completion of the new bridge by at least four months however, it is unclear at this stage exactly how long the delay will be.

Once anchored to the surrounding land with a new deck on top, the bridge will be much stronger and taller than the original structure which will significantly reduce the number of flood-related closures it faces and the duration of these closures.

The new bridge is being funded by all levels of government, including joint funding of more than $2.5 million from the Australian and NSW Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) and Regional Roads and Transport Recovery Package (RRTRP).

Additionally, the NSW Government is providing $2.5 million as part of an election commitment and $1.6 million through the Fixing Country Bridges Program, while Council will contribute $1.6 million.

Council is continuing to work with contractors to assess the site.

Updates will be shared with the community, once Council works through rectification plans and establishes a new timeframe.

For more information about the project, visit mait.city/MelvilleFordBridge