A ceremony was held to officially re-open the William Stewart Bridge today to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of lead contractor, Concrete Structures Limited, their dedicated crew and the many local contractors who managed to complete the $5.8 Million project 4 months ahead of schedule.
The efforts of this dedicated team and their suppliers has been exemplary in completing this project significantly ahead of schedule, greatly reducing the impact on the residents, wider communities, and stakeholders.
Serious corrosion was found beneath the bridge in 2018 making it unsafe, large vehicles, such as milk tankers, could only cross the William Stewart Bridge at a crawl and a detour solution would have added thousands of dollars to farm costs.
The bridge replacement was deemed a priority piece of work, and through the participation of the Provincial Growth Fund, council secured the $5.8m in funding needed to undertake the project, with work onsite commencing on 5 January it was expected to be completed by June 2022.
Mayor Gibson said, “Concrete Structures has a good reputation and are reliable, they had the equipment, experience, knowledge and skills to complete the job and they were ready and willing to use local suppliers.”
She said “the weather played its part and the bridge opened to traffic on the 26 January 2022 a mere 3 weeks after work onsite commenced”
Mayor Gibson thanked the Provincial Growth Fund, Concrete Structures Ltd, Equip Engineering, MBD Contracting, Grey Bros Engineering and all others involved in the project.
She said “this is a great outcome for all concerned and showed what good planning, communication and consultation can do for the success of a project and reflects councils’ commitment to provide excellent customer service and positive outcomes for the community”
