Fire shuts key Byron to Bangalow route – here’s when it could reopen

ONE of the major thoroughfares between Byron Bay and the hinterland was closed this week after a fire last Friday that may have caused structural damage.

Byron Shire Council was unable to confirm when the road over Byron Creek Bridge, on the outskirts of Bangalow, will reopen as it works with specialist structural engineers to assess the damage.

Bangalow Road was closed between Coopers Shoot Road and Arrow Head Lane following the incident. Police and the NSW Fire Service are investigating the cause of the fire, which is believed to have started in a caravan where homeless people had been living.

Council’s director of infrastructure services Phil Holloway said visual inspections indicated the potential for structural damage, but he was hopeful the bridge could reopen to light traffic while further assessments were carried out.

“We know the closure of the Byron Creek Bridge will be very disruptive to our community, but we cannot open the bridge until we know it is safe,” he said.

“It’s one of the key links between Bangalow and Suffolk Park and Byron Bay.

“We’re mindful school’s going back in a couple of weeks’ time and we’d have to do an assessment whether the school bus can go over it. Heavy vehicles are the big concern.”

The Byron Creek Bridge was built by the council five years ago at a cost of $2.5 million.

“The fire was pretty intense under the bridge,” Holloway said. “It wasn’t a huge distance between the caravans and where the beams are so the flames probably hit the underside of the bridge, but the heat’s really the issue.

“The concern for us is that the beams need to be replaced, and that’s a significant project and disruption.”

While signs are in place to alert drivers of the closure, Holloway said staff may establish a turnaround point for motorists.

“We don’t want someone driving all the way from Broken Head Road and getting to Bangalow and realising they can’t get through,” he said. “I have asked staff to do some testing to what Google Maps is telling people to do to see what the average person out there might be seeing.”

Bangalow Road is an alternative access route between the southern part of Byron Bay and Bangalow, carrying about 5,000 vehicles a day.

The council confirmed it was aware some people had been sleeping rough under the bridge for several months, but disputed claims it had “delivered” rough sleepers to the site following the closure of Red Devil Park to long-term camping, saying this was not a council matter.