Footage from a drone showing the current work on the bypass. Picture: NSW Government
The 10.5km-long Parkes Bypass project in New South Wales has taken a big step forward when 60-tonne girders for two new bridges were recently lifted into place.
The $287.2 million bypass will feature five intersections and two bridges; one over Hartigan Avenue (and the rail corridor) and the other over the bypass on Victoria Street.
Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Catherine King says the bypass will help make the Newell Highway a safer major inland transport route through central NSW.
“The Newell Highway contributes to the competitiveness of Australia’s agricultural and mining sectors by enabling access to essential freight networks not only in NSW, but also Victoria and Queensland,” she says.
NSW Regional Transport and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison says the work is “vital” on one of the state’s busiest regional routes.
“It will be a spectacular sight as these crucial links in the Parkes Bypass of the Newell Highway comes together …” she says.
NSW Senator Deborah O’Neill said the project would “help underpin the area’s future prosperity” and had created 350 construction jobs.
The federal government gave $229.7m for the project with the balance ($57.4m) coming from the state government.
Preliminary work such as construction of the abutments, or bridge ends, at either end of the bridges is now nearing completion; two giant cranes will be mobilised to the bypass site to lift six girders into place at each of the bridges.
Each of the 60-tonne girders were lowered into place on the bridge on October 15 and joins 30 girders that were lifted into place in 2023.
Once the cranes are set up, a 600-tonne crane will pass the girders one-by-one to a 750-tonne crane for installation between the northern abutment and the next pier.
The process will be repeated on November 5 when one of the cranes will lift six more girders into place for the new Victoria Street Bridge.
