Indigo Creek Road bridge

Activity resumed this week, with two of the support piles at the southern abutment made longer before being driven below ground.

Unusual soil conditions prompted these works, which have been undertaken to bring the piles up to necessary capacity.

There will likely be a short pause to site works again while settling occurs and testing can be completed.

Site works have paused temporarily, due to the conditions of the soil supporting the new piles.

We’re currently working with our contractor to determine the best approach to deal with the conditions, and it is expected that works on this important project will recommence next week, with an adjusted design solution in place.

The delays will not impact on the planned completion of the project by early 2025.

We’ve made further progress this week with four reinforced concrete piles now in place ready for driving into the ground next week.

The piles will support the southern bridge abutment and once they are in place, our contractors will move to the other side of Indigo Creek to repeat the process on the northern side.

Three of the four bridge beams have also been constructed and are now curing in our builder’s Yackandandah yards.

Despite the wet weather, site works have continued this week, with the old culverts now completely removed, the main earthworks complete and the waterway shaped.

Rocks to protect the new formation are also in place and next week we hope to begin the installation of the new foundation piles, which will support the bridge structure.

On-site works commenced this week, with one of the two failed culverts now removed and the second to follow next week.

Following this, works will continue with the shaping of the embankments and creek bed to prepare for the installation of the new bridge components.

The temporary side road and bridge remain in operation for 23-tonne load restricted traffic but please be aware of increased heavy equipment movements in the area while works are ongoing. 

The first structural components of the new Indigo Creek Road bridge have been constructed on site in Yackandandah,as the commencement of on-site work nears.

It is anticipated that the first stage site works, which involve removing the old metal culverts and shaping the new waterway area, will begin in the coming weeks.

Works to remove a small number of trees at the site of the new bridge are scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

The removal works are required to prepare the site for construction of the bridge as well as the shaping of the new waterway, and to eliminate the trees as a future hazard to the new structure.

The works should be completed within a day and while access across the temporary bridge will be maintained throughout the works, it may need to be suspended for short periods for the safety of road users, so please be aware there may be small delays.

At the April 2024 Council meeting, Council awarded the contract to design and construct the new bridge on Indigo Creek Road to Yackandandah based company Nelmac Pty Ltd.

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Tenders have now closed and are being assessed.

Once a contract has been awarded, we'll have a clearer idea of the overall timeline and when we can expect to see works on site commence.

The tender for the design and construction of a new bridge on Indigo Creek Road, as well as demolition of the existing failed culverts, is now being advertised and will close on Thursday 11 April.

In late 2023, we secured a Federal Government grant to support the delivery of the estimated $1.55M project. The grant provides $1.24M from the Federal Government, with Council contributing the remaining $310,000.

Once a contract has been awarded, we will have a clearer indication of the overall timeline but we are still some months away from the formal commencement of works on the ground.

To prepare the site in the meantime though, we will undertake the removal of some Poplar trees, to make way for the bridge earthworks. It is expected that the current single lane temporary bridge will be in operation until the completion of the new bridge construction.

The Federal Government has announced funding of more than $1.24M towards construction of a new bridge over the creek

The funding will enable the design and construction of a single span, two lane bridge on Indigo Creek Road.  

Council has been lobbying hard since then for government assistance and is thrilled that this project has been included in the latest Bridges Renewal Program funding. It has set aside $280,000 in the current budget towards the project.

Regular updates on when tenders will be called will be made available as soon as possible.

The temporary access road and bridge on Indigo Creek Road is now open.

Please be mindful that the road and bridge are only suitable for single lane traffic and that the bridge has a gross load limit of 23 tonne. Minor delays at the traffic lights of around two minutes are to be expected.

Please observe all safety signage and take care.

Behind the scenes the much larger, longer term, permanent bridge project to replace the pair of failed culverts has already commenced and work will continue with more planning and site investigations to better inform and finalise the detailed design before going to market to seek tenders.

Restored access on Indigo Creek Road is hopefully just days away with works on the temporary side road and bridge nearing completion.

All going well, we hope to open the road early next, but until then, it remains a construction site. Once we give the all clear and open the road, we urge motorists to observe the safety signs and traffic signals.

The access road and bridge are single lane only with a 23t load limit.

Restoration of limited vehicle access is hopefully only a little over a week away now with successful installation of the temporary bridge and ongoing road works progressing well. We can also now confirm that the temporary bridge has been structurally rated to safely carry single lane traffic up to a maximum of 23 tonnes gross, at a speed of 10km/hr.

A run of relatively dry weather is now needed to help dry out and strengthen the gravel road before sealing the surface which is tentatively programmed for the end of next week. 

We implore road users to heed the closure until advised and not to tamper with the bypass barriers and safety fencing. Any premature use of the bridge prior to the works being complete has a real risk of causing road damage and significantly delaying the opening.

Staff will be onsite next week installing signage and other road safety hardware.

A new temporary bridge to enable access to be reinstated on Indigo Creek Road has been lifted into place.

The single-lane road leading to the bridge will be controlled by traffic lights and have a restricted load limit of 23 tonne.

Over the next week, our contractors will be working to get the road graded and compacted ready to take traffic, which we hope will by the second week of February.

Works to construct a side road around the culvert failure are progressing well with earthworks completed this week on the temporary road in readiness for the installation of a temporary bridge.

Our bridge contractor will commence installation of the bridge around mid-January and we hope to have the temporary access road open before the end of January.

Reinstatement of this road remains a high priority and importantly, this temporary access solution will provide continuous, uninterrupted access while we work toward construction of a permanent new bridge in 2023. We are looking to achieve a 23t Gross load limit for the temporary bridge but will provide a further update early in the new year when we know more.

Earthworks to start construction of a temporary access road began yesterday.

In conjunction with these works, we are removing a significant amount of road material, over 300 tonnes, from above the existing culverts to stabilise the site and minimise the risk of further collapse.

The placement of a temporary bridge structure at this location means it is a more complex process to reinstate access, however, it will mean that access can be maintained throughout the construction of the permanent bridge. We've had our bridge contractor on site and installation works are slated to begin in January 2023.

We expect to commence works on a temporary access road next week (subject to approvals being finalised) after securing a contractor who can make a near-immediate start. These works will also involve removal of a significant amount of material from the road to reduce the load over the top of the old culverts and minimise the risk of further collapse.

Construction of the access road to the proposed temporary bridge location is an important step which will provide access for our bridge contractor and allow final preparations to be made. Unfortunately, placement of the bridge will still be some weeks away with a number of issues still to be addressed.

Great news – we’ve been able to secure a temporary bridge unit and identified a side track route and location upstream from the road for the temporary crossing which will provide continued, uninterrupted access while we work toward the construction of the new bridge in 2023.

Initial survey and assessment works for the temporary structure, which we’re aiming to have capacity for vehicles up to 23 tonnes, have been completed and concept drawings will be finalised early next week.

We’re aiming to appoint a contractor prior to Christmas and we’ll be able to provide a further update once they've been secured.

Once works are able to commence, they are expected to take approximately three weeks to complete, subject to final details being confirmed.

We recognise the importance of this road and are continuing to investigate a temporary bridge solution. Our aim is to create a solution that will enable access to be maintained throughout the process of building the new bridge rather than something that will have to be removed for this period. 

While this may mean that restoring access in the short term takes a little longer, this solution will minimise the longer term inconvenience.

We are continuing to monitor the site and note that the road is continuing to settle.

Following the immediate closure of the road last week, we've been working to reinstate access as soon as possible.

We're investigating the option of a temporary bridge, our structural engineering consultant has started on the design brief for a new bridge and we're hopeful to advertise the tender for design and construction in the next few weeks.

Our CEO, Trevor Ierino, provided an update on the status of the road as follows:

Firstly, I want to assure the community that this is a major priority for Council, along with several other significant roads that have been seriously impacted by the recent rain events.

We understand that there is a level of dissatisfaction with how the news of the closure was communicated to local residents and I apologise that we were not able to provide earlier notification.

The engineering report recommending immediate closure was only received Friday morning. Our staff had to move quickly to organise and have Regional Roads Victoria approve the traffic management plan and to get a traffic management company mobilised at short notice to implement the closure.

We had staff communicating with schools, the bus company, Department of Transport, emergency services and Cleanaway.

Initially we were hoping that the road could be repaired, however the engineering report recommends that the culvert be removed and replaced with a bridge. Unfortunately, this means there is no quick fix and this road will remain closed for some time.

We are however exploring all options to see if there is a temporary solution, at least for cars and light vehicles, however this will be dependent on a range of factors including further consultation with structural engineers.

Cleanaway has today confirmed that regular kerbside collection will continue and residents should put out their bins as per the normal schedule.

We will provide further updates as soon as we have any new information to share.