With Silvermine Bridge replaced and ready, residents now have another way to travel should flooding cut off the main access route.
Dedication by Kempsey Shire Council's Bridge Crews has seen the replacement of Silvermine Bridge on Willi Willi Road wrap up and officially opened on Wednesday 2 November after a challenging couple of months of wet weather and flooding.
Dylan Reeves, Manager of Infrastructure Delivery at Kempsey Shire Council said finishing the project is a huge relief for residents and Council.
"A great deal of the hard work took place in late October with Council's Bridge Crew working long into the afternoons and on a Saturday to make the bridge crossable should flooding impact Turners Flat Bridge," said Mr Reeves.
The intensive workloads saw Council's Bridge Crew install pre-cast decks and bridge approaches in wet weather, just to make sure residents were not isolated and bringing forward the scheduled completion date of mid-November.
"We did not want to see residents isolated again like what happened in September, so it really is a job well done and a great reassurance for everyone."
Now, if flooding forces the closure of Turners Flat Bridge, residents will still be able to access essential supplies by using Silvermine Bridge. The bridge is also a much stronger concrete structure meaning heavier loads and more durability to wet weather.
"Council would like to extend its sincere thanks to residents for their patience while we worked to replace Silvermine Bridge. It was very unfortunate that a couple of flood events occurred during the project, but we are now looking at something very positive for the future."
Reduced speed signs are in place as the gravel road needs time to settle and Council's grading team will complete a final grade in the coming weeks.
The replacement of Silvermine Bridge falls under the NSW Government's Fixing Country Bridges program where Council secured $20.5 million to replace 56 timber bridges. Council is also contributing around 10% of costs from its general fund to the project.
