The Coalition will build bridges, and repair them too
17th June, 2010
A Coalition Government will create a $600 million program to repair and rebuild thousands of ageing and decaying bridges around Australia, the Shadow Minister for Trade, Transport and Local Government, Warren Truss, announced today.Mr Truss, speaking at the National General Assembly of Local Government, said the Federal contribution to the new Bridges Renewal Program will be $300 million over four years.
This will be matched on a dollar for dollar and case by case basis by local or state governments.
“Repairing these bridges is truly an issue of local and national need, and the Coalition is prepared to act,” Mr Truss said.
“Local councils in particular have expressed serious concern about their ability to deal with the backlog of work on these bridges. Some councils have up to 100 bridges needing repair, with one benchmark figure suggesting it costs about $700,000 to refurbish or replace a bridge.
“There are more than 30,000 small road bridges around Australia, many in decay. They are usually on secondary freight routes and in regional Australia.
“Apart from the movement of freight, they are key economic assets in connecting local communities to the broader road network and getting people to work and school.
“Some councils have been unable to afford maintenance and upgrades necessary to keep these bridges open. Some have load limits. Sometimes people simply have to find another route.
“The federal money will be distributed on a competitive application basis, giving priority to community needs and economic return. It will be part of the AusLink programs and further details will be released closer to the election.
“This is a great initiative, and dovetails nicely with the superb Roads to Recovery program, which the former Coalition government created. It could easily be dubbed ‘Bridges to Recovery’,” Mr Truss said.
