SWAN Hill councillor Les McPhee has urged Victorian and New South Wales transport departments to stop “procrastinating” and get on with delivering design options for a new Swan Hill bridge spanning the Murray River.
Last May a preferred alignment for the bridge was announced, with a clear preference for the existing McCallum Street alignment.
The other option, known as 9a, would cut through Riverside Park and jeopardise infrastructure, including the outdoor swimming pool and court house.
A Transport for NSW spokesperson said the bridge replacement project was under way when asked if the project was being stalled.
“Transport for NSW and the Victorian Department of Transport are developing design options for the new Swan Hill bridge,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“Preliminary investigations have commenced to inform design options for the bridge and will continue over the next few months.”
Cr McPhee, who sits on the cross-border bridge committee with representatives from Murray River Council, said both councils needed to push respective transport departments to “get going” on the designs as soon as possible.
“My understanding was that the plans would go out for consultation earlier in the year, but they seem to be procrastinating on it,” he said.
“This has been going on for 40-50 years and we still don’t have a new bridge designed.”
He said a Murray River bridge study a number of years ago identified that the Swan Hill bridge needed the most attention.
“Other cross-border communities are going to be needing a new crossing soon. I see Yarrawonga-Mulwala are pushing for a new one.
“We should not be holding them up.
“Ours should be first, then move onto the others.”
Both state departments said they were also working closely with Swan Hill and Murray River councils to “ensure community needs are understood and met in the options development”.
“Options for a new crossing are expected to be ready for public consultation by late 2022,” the spokesperson said.
The decision process on the best alignment for the bridge started in 2007 when the Victorian Department of Transport (formerly VicRoads) led investigations to identify the best location for a new river crossing.
Following a planning process and community consultation, the NSW and Victorian governments endorsed option 9a as the preferred route for a future bridge in 2012 which involved building an intermediate level bridge upstream of the existing bridge.
In the same year, the NSW Government published Timber Truss Road Bridges – A Strategic Approach to Conservation. This document identified 26 timber truss bridges constructed in NSW between 1860 and 1936 that met, or could be upgraded to meet, the operational needs of the communities they service.
This strategy identified that Swan Hill bridge was to be retained.
However, in 2019 Swan Hill bridge’s status was changed and it was added to the list of bridges to be removed. This opened the door to the possibility of building a new crossing on the same alignment as the current bridge, known as the McCallum Street option.
