A rendering of the new bridge at Dubbo. Image: NSW Government
A new $263.2m bridge at Dubbo in regional NSW remains on track for a late 2026 opening.
The NSW Government says a third of the 660m-long bridge’s concrete deck, which will support traffic, is now in place.
Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King says she is proud of the project which has created 1500 jobs.
“It is exciting to see the new bridge rapidly taking shape,” she says.
The bulk of the funding ($210.6m) came from the federal government.
“New infrastructure like this is critical for the growth of regional communities and it will set Dubbo, and western NSW, up for the future,” she says.
NSW Regional Transport and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison says the bridge will provide “vital” flood resilience and infrastructure for 5500 new homes.
“On my recent visit to see the bridge, I saw how transformative this bridge will be to Dubbo,” she says.
NSW Senator for NSW Deborah O’Neill predicts the new bridge will road travel through Dubbo.
“The Bridge will reduce travel times in the city centre and improve access across the Macquarie River, particularly during flood events,” she says.
BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
Decking along the bridge is being built in sections; each section involved pouring about 105 cubic metres of concrete to provide a deck slab up to 25 centimetres deep.
The deck pours will be carried out progressively as the rest of the bridge takes shape; the final deck pour is expected in mid-2025.
Once the concrete deck is completed, the final step in the bridge surface will be to add an eight-centimetre-thick layer of asphalt.
Pile driving was recently completed along the entire length of the new structure which crosses the Macquarie River and a section of the floodplain east of the river.
Construction is also under way on roads to link the bridge to the Dubbo network, including road widening work at the intersections of Whylandra and Thompson streets and River and Bourke streets.
The New Dubbo Bridge project is due to be completed in late 2026.
