Kimberley floods: New ‘stronger’ Fitzroy River Bridge expected to be in operation by mid-2024

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 Kimberley floods. A dedicated 100-person worker camp will be established near Fitzroy Crossing in the next few months with the aim of completing 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 entirely 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. The McGowan Government previously vowed to build a bigger and stronger Fitzroy River Bridge than the one that buckled under the deluge dropped by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie at the start of the year. Details released by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti confirmed the new bridge would span around 270m in length, nearly 100m longer than the original, as a result of flooding gouging a new channel through the river bank. It will also be wider — accommodating two lanes of traffic rather than one — and the piles supporting the bridge will be driven to a depth of 40m as opposed to the previous 15m. The result will be a bridge that is approximately six times stronger than the structure it replaces, designed to withstand a 1 in 2000-year flood. Ellie was considered a 1 in 100-year event “We’re working as fast as we possibly can to get this new bridge built, and the project teams we have on board are doing an incredible job to nail down the designs,” Ms Saffioti said. “Obviously the impact of future flood events is a key consideration, and the new bridge will be significantly stronger than the original, which was built many decades ago.” Ms Saffioti said the impending dry season was a “pivotal period” to “get as much work done as we possibly can”. “The conditions in the Kimberley are very challenging and can change quickly, but our aim is to have a bridge structure in place by the middle of next year, that can support vehicle and freight movements. “This is a huge project and we’re setting ourselves some ambitious timelines because we know how important this link is to Kimberley communities and the movement of freight across the north.” In February it was announced work was expected to begin in May and take up to two years to complete — meaning the construction timeframe has been revised to be significantly shorter. A contract for the new bridge will be signed on Wednesday with the project awarded to an alliance consisting of Georgiou Group, BMD Constructions and BG&E. A barge ferrying people and vehicles from one side of the Fitzroy River to the other is now fully operational, carrying around 400 passengers and 5 to 10 cars per day. Work is also progressing on new low-level crossings, with the first expected to be in place as early as next month and capable of facilitating small passenger vehicles and four-wheel drives initially. A second low-level crossing is planned for May that would handle higher volumes of traffic and heavy freight, restoring a vital connection between the east and west Kimberley that has been severed since January. Ms Saffioti dismissed suggestions locals were upset it was all taking too long. “We’ve signed a contract in six weeks, which normally takes nine months,” she told reporters. “The reality is, the Fitzroy River has been flowing at very rapid rates and we’ve had to be operating within very, very significantly changing water levels. “We’ve done everything possible to have the both the barge system in place, the low level river crossing, and now this contract.” Asked for details on the bridge project cost, Ms Saffioti said it was an “open book alliance”, with the Commonwealth contributing cash given it was a natural disaster. “We didn’t go to a normal process where everyone would bid their cost,” the Minister said. “We chose the companies in respect to their capability and their ability to move people and to train people in the area. “I haven’t got an estimate because it’ll be determined by the final design.”