A PAIR of bridges in Golden Plains Shire are getting much-needed upgrades thanks to a recent funding announcement from the Federal Government.<\/p>\n
In late September, the Shire received news of a $1.15 million grant to enable the replacement of Slate Quarry Road Bridge at Meredith and $350,000 for Geggies Road Bridge at Rokewood.<\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil welcomes the two grants totalling $1.5 million to help replace another two old and load-limited bridges in our Shire,\u201d said Golden Plains Shire CEO Eric Braslis.<\/p>\n
\u201cFollowing council committing 50 per cent of the funding in this year\u2019s budget, we can now get on with delivering these two important bridge replacement projects.\u201d<\/p>\n
The existing bridge on Slate Quarry Road at Meredith which links the Midland Highway and Geelong-Ballan Road is currently load limited to 15 tonnes.<\/p>\n
However, with the projected $2.3 million upgrade, the new bridge will be unrestricted, eliminating a 20-kilometre detour for heavy vehicles, and provide emergency services access to this specific route.<\/p>\n
While the current Geggies Road bridge in Rokewood is 2.5-tonne load-limited, the new $700,000 bridge is set to be unlimited with the aim of benefiting local farming and grazing properties.<\/p>\n
Both replacements are possible through a partnership between Golden Plains Shire and the Federal Government, and Mr Braslis said the municipality was happy to contribute half the funding.<\/p>\n
\u201cHome to 138 bridges, replacing and maintaining important local bridge and major culvert infrastructure is a key priority for Golden Plains Shire council,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil actively lobbies for government funding support in this area.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thank the Federal Government in partnering with council to deliver these two much-needed bridge projects\u201d<\/p>\n
With construction on the bridges beginning early next year, road-user should be able to utilize the new structures from mid to late 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A PAIR of bridges in Golden Plains Shire are getting much-needed upgrades thanks to a recent funding announcement from the Federal Government. In late September, the Shire received news of a $1.15 million grant to enable the replacement of Slate Quarry Road Bridge at Meredith and $350,000 for Geggies Road Bridge at Rokewood. \u201cCouncil welcomes […]<\/p>\n