Ground broken on Bridge Mall reno

WITH shovels in the ground and tiles uprooted, work on Bridge Mall’s transformation into Bridge Street is underway.

Having started last week, the more-than-$18 million project is estimated to be completed in about 12 months and will see the mall space opened up for single-lane traffic that flows towards Peel Street North.

The project is being carried out by staff at contractor 2Construct, and City of Ballarat mayor Cr Des Hudson said the works will bring new life into the under-utilised site.

“[This] will reintroduce a road back into our Bridge Mall and begin to transform the space into still a public realm but looking into the revitalisation of the entire precinct,” he said.

“Some works that will happen but also on Little Bridge Street [will be] about activating the site. Anyone who’s been in Ballarat for a while will have seen the lack of investment by shops.

“What we can do is deliver the public realm, the infrastructure, then hopefully that’s going to be the catalysts for businesses to invest.”

Starting at the Peel Street North end of Bridge Mall, construction will move towards Sturt Street.

Grenville Street will also be redeveloped as part of the project with works to begin next month, during which the southbound lane will be closed off yet remain accessible via Curtis Street.

Nearby businesses will continue to operate during the project, with staged construction and nightworks to minimise the disturbance to shops.

2Construct managing director Duncan McPherson said his team are determined to deliver the project on time.

“Staged works have been pretty much mapped out,” he said.

“We know, for instance, the canopies and a few other activities like that, that there’s sensitive in-ground works, we’ll manage those as we see them.”

The uprooted pavers taken from the overhauled streetscape will be kept with the aim of reusing them elsewhere.