Wellington Councillors will discuss the future of two timber bridges on major thoroughfares when its meets on Wednesday night.
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The Dripstone Bridge which is on a major access road to Lake Burrendong and the Gundy Bridge on the Renshaw McGirr Way which receives traffic from Yeoval and further to Parkes are both ailing infrastructure and council technical services director Stan Robb will ask councillors to make a big decision.
Council would have to get to work on the bridges almost immediately because they are in a state of disrepair.
"It's a matter to ensure safety for all motorists in the longer term," the council's technical services director Stan Robb said.
Council's general manager Michael Tolhurst said
"Following a structural assessment of the Gundy Bridge on Renshaw-McGirr Way and Dripstone Bridge, Burrendong Way a 10-tonne load limit is to be placed on these bridges from Thursday until further notice.'' he said
"Signage will be installed shortly to warn motorists of these restrictions and additional signage will be installed to provide alternative routes for heavy vehicles.''
"Alternative arrangements for vehicles over 10 tonnes to use Renshaw-McGirr Way and Burrendong Way are currently being investigated and it hoped that these can be put in place as soon as possible to minimise the interruption to traffic and freight."
Councillors will be asked to push on with work on new bridges in both places and it will seek a number of alternatives in relation to funding them. In the longer term traffic diversions in these key tourism areas may happen and while council understands it will be inconvenient to many holidaymakers and freight operators its understood the works are now a matter of some urgency .
The new timber bridges funding in the state government budget may help Wellington fix the bridge problem.
"NSW Councils can also now apply for further federal funding of $565 million for the Black Spots programme and $300 million through the Bridges Renewal programme'' The deputy prime minister Warren Truss said.
"The Coalition Government is committed to ensuring local councils and the communities they serve get the funding they need to deliver the infrastructure and resources of the 21st century.
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