Photo: Mr Joyce pictured at Armidale’s Dumaresq Creek Bridge which will be upgraded under this funding round.

 

Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce, says new road infrastructure has been earmarked for the New England with 12 bridges to undergo major upgrades.

 

Mr Joyce said local councils around the New England will receive $5.7 million in funding under Round 4 of the Federal Liberal Nationals Government’s Bridges to Renewal Program.

 

Glen Innes:

• $700,000 to replace the Shannon Vale Road timber bridge over the Mann River with a total project cost of $1.4 million. 
• $223,100 will be invested to build a new bridge on Ten Mile Road over Deepwater River. Total cost of this bridge is $446,200.

Armidale:

• $372,500 to replace the Dumaresq Creek Bridge with a two-lane concrete structure that incorporates a separated shared pathway. Total project cost for this bridge is $745,000.   
• $280,500 will be invested to replace the deteriorated timber Pint Pot Bridge with a new concrete structure. Total cost of this bridge is $561,000.

Liverpool Plains:

• $432,500 to replace the closed, old highway bridge on Glenyalla Road, Willow Tree, with a new concrete structure. Total project cost for this bridge is $865,000.          

Walcha:

• $498,007 to replace the existing timber bridge on Glen Morrison Road, south of Walcha, with a new concrete structure. Total project cost for this bridge is $996,014.         
• $365,205 will be invested to upgrade the bridge on nearby Englefield Road, off Niangala Road. Total construction cost for this bridge is $730,410.
• $233,992 in Australian Government funding will go toward the $467,985 upgrade of the bridge on Moona Plains Road, east of Walcha.

Upper Hunter:

• $700,000 to replace the timbered Cameron Bridge on Rouchel Road, with a new concrete structure. Total project cost for this bridge is $2.2 million.      
• $700,000 will be invested to upgrade Junction Bridge, also on Rouchel Road, with a new concrete structure as well. Total construction cost for this bridge is $1.6 million.

Tenterfield:

• $600,050 to replace the two-span timber bridge over Deepwater River on Torrington Road with a new concrete structure. Total project cost for this bridge is $1.2 million.    
• $608,700 will be invested to replace the existing bridge over Kangaroo Creek on Paddy's Flat Road North. Total cost of this bridge is $1.21 million.

Replacing old timber bridges such as these in the New England ensures that important rural and regional road links are safer, more reliable and more efficient,” Mr Joyce said.

 

"Under this program, we have now secured funding for 34 bridges around the New England electorate.

 

“I am pleased that many local councils received funding under this round and I look forward to seeing this investment make a positive difference.”

 

The Bridges Renewal Program provides up to 50 per cent of the cost of repairing or replacing old and unsafe local bridges.

 

The Liberals and Nationals in Government are committing $640 million for vital bridgeworks between 2015–16 to 2022–23, with an ongoing commitment of $85 million each year following.

 

Under Round 4, the Government has committed $57 million to help fund vital local bridgeworks following the completion of an open, merit-based selection process.