Safer crossing at Barwon Park Road bridge

AFTER months of construction, the Barwon Park Road bridge on the border of Inverleigh and Surf Coast Shire is once again open for traffic.

After the old bridge, which stretches over Warrambine Creek, had begun showing signs of structural distress, it has now been replaced and restructured.

In a partnership between Golden Plains and Surf Coast shires, the w-beam bridge barrier was removed and upgraded to a VicRoads-approved bridge barrier.

A new retaining wall was constructed and he narrow and steep approach to the bridge from the north was also widened as part of the project.

“The bridge and the Golden Plains Shire approach is now much safer, and will serve the Inverleigh and border community well for many more years to come,” said Golden Plains Shire mayor Cr Owen Sharkey.

The cost of the $620,000 capital works was shared between the two shires with the Federal government providing $110,000 as a part of its Roads to Recovery Program.

“Spanning the border between our Shire and the Surf Coast Shire, we were pleased to be able to work with our neighbouring council to deliver this important upgrade, which also wouldn’t have been possible without the Roads to Recovery Program funding from the Federal government,” Cr Sharkey said.

Cr Sharkey also said the revamp the Barwon Park Road bridge was the last major infrastructure project from the 2019/20 council budget to be completed.

“Council set a busy infrastructure agenda in the budget and the upgraded bridge over the Warrambine Creek was the final piece on the to-do list,” he said.