Narrabri Shire Council has approved almost half a million dollars in extra funding for the Violet Street Bridge project, after the piling stage of the works took longer to complete than anticipated.
Council signed off on a budget variation of $487,000 at its August meeting. The recommendation was made because of the delay at the piling stage, and the change means the project’s $7 million budget is now fully allocated.
The additional funding will be allocated to the bridge contractor to cover prolonged project management costs associated with the extended timeline, as well as the construction of bitumen seal approaches to the bridge.
The variation is being funded from the Australian Government’s Roads to Recovery funding, meaning there is no direct cost to council. The Roads to Recovery program has seen an annual funding increase over each year of the 2024 to 2029 program, and from 2027-28 onwards, the annual allocation to council under the program will be double what it was at the start of the program in 2024.
Council also approved a separate change to the wider project. The renewal of a 250 millimetre diameter water main, which was originally to be completed by the bridge contractor as part of the Violet Street Bridge works, will now be treated as its own separate project. The $132,680 needed to renew the water main will instead be funded by council’s Water Fund reserve, rather than the bridge budget, with the works still to be completed by the same bridge contractor.
Council said this adaptive and resilient approach to project and budget management was a great outcome for the Narrabri Shire community.
Regular information and updates on the Violet Street Bridge project can be found through the project’s dedicated webpage, social media, local print and broadcast media, and council’s website.
More information: yoursay.narrabri.nsw.gov.au/violet-street-bridge-replacement.
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