The Tarriaro bridge, which former Member for Barwon Kevin Humphries labelled ‘one of the most dangerous bridges in the region’ is to be replaced at last.
Construction of a modern two lane bridge to replace the old single lane structure is expected to be finished by April next year.
With mining developments and other growth in traffic, the number of vehicles using the crossing has grown exponentially in recent years.
Regular users have long expressed their concerns that the bridge presented safety issues.
Skid marks and reports of ‘near misses’ are testament to the danger.
Narrabri Shire Council has accepted the tender from Saunders Civilbuild Pty Ltd for the design and construction of the new bridge at the same site.
The Council received $1,780,800 in funding from the NSW Government’s Restart NSW Resources for Regions fund for the new bridge with the Council co-contributing $763,200.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW John Barilaro congratulated Narrabri Shire Council on awarding the tender.
“The replacement of the single-lane Tarriaro Bridge with a dual lane bridge will improve freight movements for mining and agriculture, as well as improve safety for the community,” Mr Barilaro said.
“Council will keep the community informed of when the project will commence as there will be detours that will affect traffic for the duration of the completion of the project which could be up to six months.
“Whilst this may cause some short-term inconvenience to traffic, the long-lasting outcome will be an increase to safety for all road users, improved traffic flow, accessibility for wide loads and improved connectivity in and out of the Narrabri region”.
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