Road users in Retreat and Piallamore in the Tamworth region can enjoy smoother and safer journeys, with the new Retreat and Fishers bridges now open to traffic.
In Retreat, works have been completed to seal a 6.5-kilometre stretch of the previously unsealed Retreat Road. The existing bridge has also been replaced to improve user safety and access, opening up the transport network as one of only two major river crossings in the region.
The Retreat upgrades also mean B-doubles can use the road, making it easier for primary producers living in the area to access important livestock and feed transportation.
The former bridge has been dismantled, but will not go to waste, with the heritage steel trusses to be relocated to the Tamworth Global Gateway Park for use as a cycleway bridge.
In Piallamore, the existing timber Fishers Bridge has been replaced by a concrete structure with no load limits, providing major benefits to traffic along this important travel route.
The $3.35 million bridge replacements were jointly funded, with up to $1.67 million through the Australian Government's Bridges Renewal Program (BRP), over $1 million under the NSW Government's Fixing Local Roads Program and over $500,000 from the NSW Government's Fixing Country Bridges Program.
The upgrades were also supported by the Tamworth Regional Council Asset Renewal Fund.
Applications for BRP funding are accepted year-round from state, territory and local governments, to provide flexibility and allow projects to be submitted when they will most benefit the community.
