Preparations are underway for the construction of the new Violet Street Bridge over Narrabri Creek.
The project will see the removal of the existing bridge and its replacement with a concrete and steel reinforced structure, as well as upgraded road approaches.
The new bridge will feature unrestricted load capacity, dual traffic lanes, shared pathways along both sides, and new overhead street lighting.
The $7 million project has been made possible with the contribution of $5 million through the Infrastructure Betterment Program jointly funded by the Australian and NSW Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
Narrabri Shire Council General Manager Eloise Chaplain said tender documentation was currently being prepared, with the project’s tender expected to be advertised this month.
“A report is proposed to be presented at the October Ordinary Council Meeting for Councillors’ consideration to award the contract.” said Chaplain.
“Upon successful award of the contract and subject to the contractor’s program, site works will commence from mid to late November, beginning with demolition of the existing bridge,” Ms Chaplain added.
Construction of the new bridge is anticipated to be completed by the end of September 2026, depending on weather and other factors that may affect the timeline. A detour will be in place throughout the duration of the works.
Narrabri Shire Council Mayor Darrell Tiemens said the resulting Violet Street Bridge will be a safer, wider bridge that will cater for all vehicles as well as pedestrians and cyclists.
“While the current Violet Street Bridge is load-limited, its replacement will be built to current bridge standards, allowing unrestricted heavy vehicle access.”
“Further, each side of the bridge will feature a shared pathway for pedestrians and cyclists, which will connect to our existing shared pathway network.”
The new structure will also decrease the time required to remove barriers during flood events. This means the bridge will not need to close as early as per previous flood events – reducing disruption for residents and road users.
“This next stage of the project follows on from flood modelling and geotechnical investigations, along with a feasibility study completed earlier this year,” Ms Chaplain added.
“The outcome of the flood modelling dictated that a low-level bridge was the only acceptable design option for flood mitigation.”
“While higher-level replacement bridges were explored, flood modelling showed these types of bridges would result in the new bridge approaches blocking the waterway, impacting water flows during a flood event and putting a significant number of areas at risk of flooding, including nearby properties and businesses.”
The only other option was for the construction of a bridge at a similar height and length to that of the Newell Highway bridge over Narrabri Creek; however this this type of bridge was cost-prohibitive with a cost upwards of $30 million.
In terms of the bridge’s construction, Council has had discussions with and is providing assistance to those directly affected by the works, including residents, the local school, bus companies, businesses and emergency services.
“We will continue to provide information and assistance to all those affected by the works throughout the project and provide regular updates to the Narrabri community,” Mayor Tiemens said.
“We’re looking forward to delivering a safer and more resilient bridge that will serve our community for decades to come.”
For more information and project updates regarding the Violet Street Bridge please visit https://yoursay.narrabri.nsw.gov.au/violet-street-bridge-replacement.
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