$5 million for replacement of Violet Street bridge in Narrabri

One of Narrabri’s most flood-prone bridges will be replaced after the state government awarded Narrabri Shire Council $5 million as part of the Infrastructure Betterment Fund.

The Violet Street bridge will receive a massive overhaul as part of the jointly-funded Commonwealth and NSW governments’ $200 million program.

The funding program supports the repair and rebuilding of public assets directly damaged by the 2019/20 bushfires and flood events of 2021 and early 2022.

Mayor Darrell Tiemens has welcomed the support and described the bridge replacement as a significant project for the shire.

“The replacement of the Violet Street bridge shows council’s ongoing commitment to providing our community with improved infrastructure that suits our current and future requirements,” said Cr Tiemens.

“The Violet Street bridge is important to our community and provides vital links across Narrabri.

“The new bridge is an investment in the community’s safety and resilience, and this funding enables council to provide a bridge with increased flood immunity, reducing the impact on residents during major flood events”.

Announcing the program last year, Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said by providing this assistance the NSW government is helping disaster impacted communities work towards greater flood resilience and reclaiming their unique individual identities.

“High quality essential assets and community infrastructure are what drive local economies,” Ms Moriarty said. “For example, we’re investing $10 million to combine, relocate and improve two of Tweed Shire council’s works depots to a single site outside of the high-risk flood zone.

“It’s projects like this that will allow services to stay open and operating so they can keep supporting their communities during future natural disasters.

“By rebuilding these facilities, we are ensuring communities have the amenities they need to entice visitors, encourage local businesses and residents to thrive and will allow services to keep supporting their communities during future natural disasters.”

This week, the Minister said through the co-funded Infrastructure Betterment Fund, the Australian and NSW governments have provided $5 million to improve flood resilience to the Violet Street bridge.

Ms Moriarty said the bridge is a vital link in Narrabri Shire helping connect people to schools, recreation and business.

“It’s also the only alternative route if the main Narrabri Creek bridge is blocked or damaged,” she said.

“The Betterment of the Violet Street Bridge project includes the removal of the existing bridge and replacement with a reinforced structure to increase flood immunity.”

Federal Minister for Emergency Management, Murray Watt said the funding will help local councils and NSW government agencies to improve the resilience of essential assets damaged by natural disasters.

“This significant investment by the Albanese and Minns governments supports the massive reconstruction program that’s needed following three years of natural disasters across NSW,” Mr Watt said.

“By rebuilding our schools, roads and drainage systems back to a higher standard, we are better prepared for future disasters, and can keep communities connected, reduce the amount of hardship they experience, as well as avoid future reconstruction costs during and after a disaster event.

“Our partnership to also repair playgrounds, walkways and community facilities will enable councils to work towards greater disaster resilience and contribute to stronger community wellbeing.

“This is another example of both levels of government working together to change the way we spend recovery funding after disasters across NSW so communities are less exposed in the future, as disasters become increasingly frequent and intense.”

The overhaul of the Violet Street bridge will see the removal of the existing bridge and replacement with a concrete and steel reinforced structure and approaches – all designed to increase flood immunity.

The new bridge will feature unrestricted load capacity, dual traffic lanes, dual shared pathways along both sides and improved approaches.

Stage one of the Violet Street bridge works has started, with flood modelling in progress and geotechnical testing. Council will consult with the community and provide updates as the project progresses.