Bridge Opens In Malanda

The long-awaited upgrade to Duncan Brown Bridge on Mary Street in Malanda is finally complete and open to vehicles and pedestrians.

‘This was a major project for the town and local contractor, and the finished product is a vast improvement on the previous bridge,’ said Councillor Dave Bilney.

‘The new $3.5M bridge now has two lanes, with separate pedestrian access, and the load limit has been increased to 44T, which means trucks and emergency services vehicles will now be able to cross it.

‘The bridge also has an expected life span of at least 100 years.

‘We’d hoped to have the bridge finished and open by Christmas last year, but the weather and availability of resources and contractors caused a few issues.

‘We can’t thank ECHO Empowering Services enough for transporting members of our community, including school students, who couldn’t manage the detour.

‘And the Malanda and greater community have been super patient during the project.

‘We realise the closure of the bridge impacted the traveling distance and time of a lot of people, but thankfully most people understood it was worth it for the new bridge.

‘We’ll be doing additional work on Mary Street and Pound Road from Tuesday 18 April, which will mean we will have to close the bridge to vehicles for about four weeks (weather dependent).

‘Pedestrian access will remain open during the roadworks.

‘It’s not ideal but we felt it was better to open the bridge as soon as possible rather than keeping it closed until the additional roadworks could be completed,’ said Councillor Bilney.

Mary Street Bridge renewal, Malanda (Duncan Brown Bridge) project is jointly funded by the Australian Government through the Bridges Renewal Program, and TRC.