Foundation piling works completed on $7m bridge upgrade

A major milestone has been achieved on the $7m upgrade of the Violet Street bridge with the recent completion of foundation piling works on the project.

The final pile was driven for the bridge’s abutment on the Selina Street end of the bridge, marking the completion of these works.

The first concrete pour for the abutment at the Tibbereena Street end of the structure has also been completed.

In an update, Narrabri Shire Council said all pier piles are being cut down to the design level, while steelwork for pile caps for each pier is underway.

Focus will also move to demolition of the old bridge piers, which were used to support the temporary pile guide frames.

These existing bridge piers are scheduled to be demolished this month. In addition to demolition of existing piers, the bridge’s next milestone will include the construction of the pile caps, blade piers and the abutment at the Selina Street end of the bridge.

“This is expected to take approximately six weeks, after which construction of the headstocks and placement of the girders will take place – and another step closer to completion of the new Violet Street Bridge,” the council’s update read.

A detour route continues to be in place along Selina Street, Newell Highway and Tibbereena Street.

This detour will remain throughout the duration of the works.

“Council thanks the local community for their patience and ongoing support of the project,” the update read.

As previously reported, the bridge replacement will have an unrestricted load capacity, catering for all vehicles.

It will also feature a separate shared pathway for pedestrians and cyclists on each side of the new structure, and decrease time required to remove barriers during flood events – reducing disruption times for residents and road users.

The bridge replacement project, being undertaken by Saunders Civilbuild Pty Ltd, has been made possible with the contribution of $5m through the Infrastructure Betterment Program jointly funded by the Australian and NSW governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

The Australian government’s Roads to Recovery Program contributed the remaining $2m for the project.