Fixing Country Bridges Program

The Fixing Country Bridges Program is a $500 million NSW Government program, enabling councils to replace hundreds of timber bridges in poor condition and better connect regional and rural communities. Some of these timber bridges were built during the 1940s and 1950s and need to be replaced.

Bridges play a vital role in regional NSW, supporting growth and development, as well as providing access to critical services. These benefits and connections stimulate the economy and promote the social wellbeing of our communities.

Better bridges mean improved access to schools, towns, hospitals and jobs, increased efficiencies for our primary producers, easier movement of freight and better outcomes for road safety in regional and rural communities. The Program is also helping to build a transport network that is more resilient to natural disasters and provide more reliable connections.

The Program aims to reduce the maintenance and renewal burden for councils on hundreds of timber bridges in regional and rural NSW.
In addition to providing community benefits, the Program is injecting much needed funds into local economies and increasing local employment opportunities.

The NSW Government Fixing Country Bridges Program, together with the Fixing Local Roads Program will contribute $1 billion to support local government to manage their respective road and timber bridge assets that provide major benefits to the local communities.

Round 1

Round 1 has secured over $330 million in funding for 53 councils to replace 414 timber bridges.

Please note: Transport for NSW has extended the delivery timeframes for all Round 1 projects under the Fixing Country Bridges Program.

Department of Primary Industries (DPI) – Fisheries permit applications update

Under Round 1, Transport for NSW and DPI Fisheries streamlined the approvals process for project permit applications through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to prevent obstruction to fish passage and damage to fish habitat. This MoU was established to support the large volume of permits requiring approval prior to July 2022 to meet successful project start of construction requirements within the program guidelines.

The MoU has been extended to enable DPI Fisheries permit applications to be finalised for Round 1 projects until 30 April 2023. After this date, the arrangement between Transport for NSW and DPI Fisheries will end and councils will be required to lodge and pay for their required permits directly to DPI Fisheries.

Councils can access the DPI Fisheries’ Council and Developer Toolkit for current permit application forms.

Round 2A

A preliminary round of funded projects (Round 2A) based on applications received for Round 2 of the Program has been announced.

$49.25 million has been awarded to replace 34 timber bridges with concrete bridges across 21 Local Government Areas (LGA).

Round 2B

All remaining eligible projects submitted in Round 2 were considered under Round 2B, which will be the final round of projects funded under the Program.

Under Round 2B, $75.73 million is being allocated to 53 successful projects in 19 eligible local government bodies.

With the announcement of this final round, $500 million has now been allocated to support and deliver this legacy program of regional infrastructure.

The Fixing Country Bridges Program is now on track to replace over 500 bridges across 58 eligible local government bodies across the life of the Program.

 

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Project documents

Successful projects
Factsheets

Media releases

 

Contact us

For further information about this project, please contact:

Email: fixingcountrybridges@transport.nsw.gov.au