WORK is continuing to progress the repair of The Bight Bridge at Wingham and Tiri Bridge following their destruction in the May 2025 floods.
Both bridges were severely damaged during the record flood event.
MidCoast Council has investigated a number of options and are working with the Disaster Recovery Authority and other government agencies to ensure funding requirements are met.
“We understand these connections are vital to the communities they serve,” MidCoast Council Deputy Mayor Jeremy Miller said.
“We have been ramping up talks with government agencies to come up with a suitable solution for the community.”
Given such infrastructure projects are generally funded on a “like for like” basis, Council may be restricted to replacing the bridges at their current levels and alignments, despite a preference for higher replacement structures.
“In the meantime we will continue to press for betterment funding which means the rebuild can be done at a higher level with the intent that the situation is avoided in the future,” Cr Miller said.
Council says it could take between 12 months and two years before The Bight Bridge is open to traffic.
The preferred option for Tiri Bridge includes investigating the possible installation of a temporary timber bridge before the construction of a permanent concrete bridge replacement.
While discussions with the government continue, Cr Miller said further structural assessments will be carried out on both bridges to determine the integrity of the remaining piers.
Across the MidCoast LGA, Council has revealed that more than 21,000 defects have been recorded across the road network as a result of the floods with nearly 1000 emergency work items identified.
The estimate to repair the damage caused by the floods is more than $270 million.
“This is a huge number, on top of the underfunding that our road network is already experiencing,” Cr Miller said.
“We will be working as hard as we can to get the repairs funded to ensure the best outcome for our community.”
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