Kimberley tourism operators hopeful as Fitzroy River low-level crossing gets opening date

Easter will hopefully be a little better for battling Kimberley tourism operators with the news small buses should be able to use a low-level crossing over the Fitzroy River by mid-April. Main Roads opened the low-level crossing to four-wheel-drives only on the morning of April 3 but shut it again at 5pm after The Bureau of Meteorology warned the Fitzroy River could rise by 2.5m in the coming days. It is hoped that after Easter caravans, single-axle trucks and small tourist buses with up to 32 seats should be able to make the crossing. Australia’s North West Tourism chair Kym Francesconi welcomed the news. “An incredible effort has been made by Fitzroy Crossing locals, contractors and the State Government to get us to this stage. This is such an important development not just for the tourism industry but for the entire Kimberley community. We’re delighted to see such progress and are looking forward to the start of the tourism season,” Ms Francesconi said. Kimberley tourism operators have been hit hard financially by the one-in-100-year January flood which devastated communities, killed thousands of cattle and destroyed the Fitzroy River bridge cutting the West and East Kimberley by sealed road. Many tourists have cancelled their upcoming dry season trips believing their holidays will be ruined because of the flood. Jen Bird from Kimberley Wild Expeditions said it had been, “horrendous.” “It was such a kick in the guts to all of us after Covid, and it is going to be the best season to go, everything will be green and flushed out, all of these people are going to miss out because they panicked.” Ms Bird has been sweating on the low-level crossing being open because they have tour group of 26 students and teachers from France who are booked to cross the river on April 16 on their way to the Bungle Bungles, 108km east of Halls Creek. The tour group booked their tour in 2019 but the trip has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are sweating on further rain but obviously there is nothing that can be done about it we know everyone is doing everything they can to help.” Main Roads has been scrambling to construct the low-level crossing. For 11 weeks the only way to get across the Fitzroy was by private boat or helicopter with an average of 95 people being flown back and forth each day. During that time two men, aged 40 and 20, drowned trying to swim across. On March 14 a barge began operating to ferry pedestrians across the river. The following week the barge started also taking up to six vehicles a day, however, they had to weigh no more than 2.4 tonnes loaded and belong to displaced people or essential service providers. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said bookings for barging vehicles across the river were now closed. “The 4WD ferry service across the Fitzroy River is now fully booked until Monday, April 10. New bookings or requests to join the waitlist cannot be made until further notice. “If you are already on the Shire waitlist, they will contact you if a time and date become available.” The ferry service, however, is still taking pedestrians and will continue to do so as long as the river levels remain high enough. A replacement bridge over the Fitzroy River is expected to be in operation by mid-2024 and will be wider, longer and around six times stronger than the structure destroyed in January’s historic floods in the Kimberley A dedicated 100-person worker camp will be established near Fitzroy Crossing in the next few months to complete a substantial portion of construction on the bridge during the upcoming dry season. While the entire project — estimated to cost $200 million — may not be completed by the middle of 2024, the aim is for the structure to be advanced enough to allow “some movement of traffic across the bridge” by mid-next year.