Bridge Under Troubled Waters

Earlier this month the approaches to the brand new $4.5 million Ted Cunningham Bridge were washed away by flood waters and since then residents have been forced to use the old bridge which has “reached end of useful life” and is now restricted to a maximum of a ten-tonne load.

“Investigations have determined that some of the footings are not as good as we thought,” said Darren Raeck, Manager of Roads and Drainage for Whitsunday Regional Council.

“Its structural integrity is a bit unknown which is why we have a load limit of ten tonne so that school buses, fuel trucks, cars and utes can get through but no heavy vehicles.”

Council have reinforced the previously disused bridge with a gravel road base, mixed with cement to make it more durable but residents are concerned it will be washed away with the next rainfall.

Mr Raeck reassures residents that Council will “continue to monitor the location and will continue to react and respond and reinstate access as quickly as possible” if this does occur.

It is estimated that it could be upwards of three months before the new bridge is restored, with an estimated two month consultation period to discover the fault.

“We’re just working through with the contractor on why the approaches failed and once we’ve determined that, we’ll work out the best solution,” said Mr Raeck.

“If it’s a matter of replacing it like-for-like it won’t take too long and could be fixed in a matter of weeks but if we decide we need to do more extensive works and extend the bridge that will take a lot more time.”

The bridge was built with principal project requirements and budget established prior to the tender that the contractor follows and that the best and most cost effective design is chosen for the best long-term outcome.

The Ted Cunningham Bridge approach collapsed earlier this month

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