Clarence Town is set to get a new bridge over the Williams River. The new bridge will be built alongside the heritage-listed Brig O'Johnston Bridge on Limeburners Creek Road.
It will allow for semi-trailers of at least 45.5 tonnes and 68-tonne B-Doubles - more than double the load capacity of the existing bridge.
It will also cater for over-width vehicles, unlike the Brig O'Johnston Bridge, which is restricted to vehicles of up to 2.8 metres wide and can carry only one lane of traffic with a load restriction of 22.5 tonnes.
The works will also deliver a pedestrian walkway.
The project is expected to improve freight access and productivity, improve road safety, and support local industries. Tenders are expected to be called in coming months.
The new $20.6 million bridge is funded by the Australian and NSW governments. The Australian and NSW governments had previously approved $8.8 million and $5.5 million in funding respectively.
The NSW Government has now increased its contribution by a further $5.5 million to $11 million and the Australian Government by $781,000 to $9.581 million.
The Brig O'Johnston Bridge will be retained and rehabilitated.
Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King said:
"This is fantastic news for the people of Clarence Town and for surrounding businesses and industry.
"Heavy vehicles currently have to detour up to 52 kilometres to bypass the existing bridge.
"The new bridge will allow industry to increase load width and mass, eliminating the detour and enabling the use of more productive vehicles.
"This will result in time savings while reducing energy costs and emissions."
NSW Regional Transport and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said:
"I recently visited Dungog and the growing need for a new bridge was clear to me.
"The NSW Labor Government's announcement of additional funding to ensure the new Bridge is delivered is fantastic news for the people of Clarence Town and for surrounding business and industry.
"The key driver for this project is to provide uninhibited access and egress for heavy vehicles into the Dungog Shire area.
"It will also provide a freight link from the Pacific Highway and the Bucketts Way into rural agricultural areas of Dungog, Vacy and East Gresford.
"Many of the region's agricultural industries will benefit from larger, more productive freight transport into this area.
"These will include larger milk collection tankers, larger livestock transport vehicles, larger feed delivery vehicles and poultry farm access for deliveries of feed and stock."
NSW Government Duty MLC for the Upper Hunter electorate Emily Suvaal said:
"By building a more reliable road freight network, we're ensuring that food, produce and raw materials, which feed and power our state, can move to market as efficiently as possible.
"This project is a great example of all three levels of government working together for the benefit of the community.
"It was made possible thanks to a combination of Australian and NSW Government funded programs, and I commend Dungog Shire Council on its vision and support of this important project."
Dungog Mayor John Connors said:
"We have been advocating heavily for this project across all levels of government for several years, and we're thrilled that we can finally deliver a safe, reliable and accessible bridge that the Clarence Town community deserves.
"As a region, the Dungog shire has been identified as potentially needing 2400 residential homes by 2041, so it's great to know that the infrastructure on major arterial routes - such as the Clarence Town Bridge, will support this level of growth.
"We're incredibly grateful to the NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison and Federal Minister for Infrastructure Catherine King for working with us to make this asset a reality for the Dungog shire."
