End of the line for heritage listed rail bridge

DEMOLITION of a 130-year-old timber rail bridge over Terania Street in North Lismore began this week, as years of neglect and safety concerns force its removal.

The historical structure, built in 1894 and unused since the Sydney to Murwillumbah train service ended in 2004, had become a hazard to passing traffic.

While some in the community lament the loss of a piece of Lismore’s heritage, the dismantling was deemed necessary by authorities.

Transport for NSW’s Northern Bridge Works Manager Maintenance, Sam Agnew, said the demolition would be completed incrementally, with workers dismantling the bridge from one end to the other to maintain stability during the process.

“In this instance, we’re doing an incremental dismantling from one end to the other so that the spans that aren’t actively being demolished stay as stable as possible,” Mr Agnew said.

The crew works from the top down, cutting the rail line into segments from cherry pickers. The sections are then lifted off before excavators break through the girders.

The piers are then laid on the ground so they can be worked on more safely.

Once the structure is demolished, the abutments will be made safe and the road will be stabilised and repaved before reopening to the public.

The bridge timber will not be reused.

“Unfortunately, because of the condition of the existing fabric, as well as the contaminants that are involved, we’re not able to reuse any of it,” Mr Agnew said.

“But we’ll try and salvage as much of the more interesting artefacts as we can that have got a bit of heritage value to them.”

Mr Agnew said the work had been progressing well and was on track to be reopened to traffic by October 18, and finalised by mid-December.

Terania St was closed for four months earlier this year after a vehicle collided with the structure.

The ensuing assessments led to the NSW Heritage Council approving the demolition of the heritage structure in August.