BRIDGE strengthening works on Myrtlebank-Fulham Rd began last month as part of the alternative truck route around Sale, following a number of delays.

The planning of the Sale Alternative Truck Route forms part of a partnership between Wellington Shire Council and the state Department of Transport and Planning.

Both bridges remain open to traffic and to keep everyone safe, a 40 kilometre per hour speed limit will be in place at times. Lane closures will be in place with traffic controllers and temporary traffic lights on site during the day and at stages throughout the night to help road users travel safely through the area.

The federal government last year had been undertaking a 90-day review of its Infrastructure Investment Program, and the works on the two bridges were included in the review. The project was eventually given the green light to continue.

The strengthening works on Thomson River Bridge and Stirling Bridge (crossing Lavers Creek) include:

  • installing additional piles to the bridge pier and abutment foundations (Thomson River Bridge only);
  • strengthening of the existing bridge foundations;
  • bridge deck strengthening;
  • asphalt resurfacing of the bridge deck, and
  • upgrading of bridge barriers and approaches.

This project is strengthening the two structures so freight vehicles, including B-doubles, can use the route. Larger freight vehicles are currently prevented from using this option as they exceed bridge load limits. These trucks must travel through central Sale which increases travel times while reducing freight efficiency.

This $6.28 million project is funded through the federal government’s $316 million commitment to upgrade the Princes Highway corridor in Victoria and will cater for the region’s growing population and modern freight vehicles.

Works are expected to be completed by early 2025. A sign that stated the completion date of the project as December 2023 was taken down last year.

The Thomson River and Stirling bridges are similar in construction and were constructed in 1980 and 1981 respectively by then then Shire of Maffra. The bridges provide a crossing over Thomson River and Lavers Creek for traffic on the Myrtlebank-Fulham Rd, which is currently maintained and managed by Wellington Shire Council.

Both bridges were widened around 1998 and have two traffic lanes (one in each direction).

As for the Sale Alternative Truck Route project as a whole, it’s still in the planning stage and the DTP said it was working with council to plan the intersection upgrades and improve the roads. More information can be found at transport.vic.gov.au/News-and-resources/Projects/Alternative-Truck-Route-Sale

As the bridge works began last month, federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester lambasted the project’s delays.

In a media release, Mr Chester said he secured $6.2 million from the previous federal government to upgrade the bridges as the first stage of major works on the road, which is growing in popularity for travellers seeking to bypass Sale.

“It’s been a farcical project with the new minister Catherine King suspending work while she undertook a so-called 90-day review of the infrastructure program that lasted more than 200 days,” Mr Chester said.

“There were signs up last year saying the bridge strengthening would be finished by December 2023, and they are just starting work now.

“There’s not a single major transport project in Gippsland today that Minister King has funded and delivered. All of the major works were funded under the previous Coalition government and are now being rolled out at a snail’s pace.”

Mr Chester said there was still no indication whether the federal government would help fund the planned roundabout and road realignment on the Maffra-Sale Rd, which was a critical component of the alternative route, however the Transport Victoria website still outlined this as part of the planning stage.

Mr Chester said the state government finally agreed to provide $10.9 million for this project on the Sale alternative route in this year’s budget “after years of lobbying by local council and transport operators, but that only covers half the cost”.

“Ironically, we had the chance to secure 80 per cent of the funding from the previous Coalition government, but we could never convince the Melbourne Labor ministers to provide the 20 per cent required to get the job done,” he said.

“Now the funding rules have been changed by Minister King, and the state government is required to provide a 50-50 split. By waiting so long, Gippslanders have been short-changed and will now be paying even more for a road that could’ve been fixed years ago.

“We still haven’t heard whether the federal government will provide its share of the funding because Minister King refuses to reply to letters asking for more information.

“I’ve never dealt with a Minister who can’t be bothered responding to correspondence from local MPs seeking information on behalf of residents about important local projects.”

Fifty road infrastructure projects across the country were scrapped last year by Minister King after the infrastructure review was completed.

“As part of responding to the findings of the review, the government has made necessary decisions to no longer provide funding at this time to some projects,” Minister King said last November.

“This includes projects that were not realistically going to be delivered with the funding available, have made little to no progress over a significant amount of time, and projects that do not align with Commonwealth or state and territory priorities.”