CEO Statement on Kirwans Bridge
Statement by Strathbogie Shire Council Chief Executive Officer Julie Salomon
Strathbogie Shire Council wants to let our community know we must make changes to the delivery of the Weir Rd upgrade.
We want to start by apologising for the delays and changes to this project.
We want to thank those in our community who have fought for the best outcome.
It’s because of the community engagement and your interest, that we have taken a step back to ensure the project will achieve what it needs to.
That’s bringing benefit to the community.
So today we want to be truly transparent and to do this we have to outline our problem.
As you know the road design has come under scrutiny with a very public discussion about if it meets design standards.
The original plan was designed, and meets all appropriate standards, for the lower vehicle count of 150 that occurs when Kirwans Bridge is open.
However, after the October 2022 floods forced the closure on Kirwans Bridge the vehicle count on Weir Rd has increased to more than 300 vehicles per day.
At this vehicle count we would need to increase the road width to match all appropriate standards and guidelines.
This could mean to meet the desired road design we would need to remove up to 126 trees at an additional cost of about $620,000.
We’ve well and truly heard; this isn’t an outcome our community is willing to accept.
So… what do we do?
Our commitment is first and foremost to reopen Kirwans Bridge.
We have an estimated repair cost of $1.5 million to reopen the bridge at 3 tonne.
This would be a short-term fix, while we continue to advocate for Federal and State Government funding to implement a long-term sustainable future for the bridge.
We are making finding this funding and progressing the insurance claim for Kirwans Bridge our priority.
We cannot say strongly enough – our commitment is for a sustainable long-term future for Kirwans Bridge.
But this brings us back to the problem of Weir Rd.
We have put the works on hold while an independent expert completes a safety report.
This will provide third party advice and identify any hazards, assess the road in general, record any problems and deficiencies and develop suitable counter measures, along with providing us with advice on speed limits and signage.
We’ll share this report with the public when it’s complete, along with our informed plan for the best way forward for Weir Rd.
What we know already is that further information relating to safety and design must be obtained before the project can recommence, and that the environment has changed post flooding and the closure of Kirwans Bridge.
We’re committed to improving the safety of roads throughout the shire wherever possible.
In October, Council will host an advocacy planning workshop – for us all to come together to brainstorm ways to attract funding to upgrade Kirwans Bridge.
We’re going to ask participants for their big ideas. We need out-of-the-box thinking, and people power, to ensure the message is heard by potential funders.
We hope you will get involved. The path to identifying a future design for Kirwans Bridge has been long and hard, but we now have a preferred design options and costings for the panel’s preferred options.
If you’re keen to join our advocacy action workshop, please register your interest by emailing info@strathbogie.vic.gov.au to the attention of Kristin Favaloro or head to www.share.www.strathbogie.vic.gov.au.
Read our previous update and FAQs
Read the reports