Council takes over bridge works

Horsham Rural City Council will take responsibility for completing construction of a $1.2-million pedestrian bridge across the Wimmera River after the financial collapse of the contracting firm responsible for the project.

The council’s technical services team is now planning to complete the job using a combination of council staff and Wimmera contractors.

The council confirmed the move after contractor J and R Industries of Wangaratta advised it had gone into voluntary administration and had moved from the Horsham site.

Horsham council staff members have continued to liaise with an administrator and works on the final parts for the bridge are continuing at the company’s Wangaratta site.

Council leaders expect the parts to arrive in Horsham after galvanising in Melbourne this week.

Horsham council chief executive Peter Brown said the council had been aware of the possibility of the contractor going into voluntary administration ‘for some time’.

“We have been working closely with J and R Industries and local contractors to ensure the bridge could get to a point where it can be completed locally,” he said. “We are disappointed for J and R Industries, but we remain confident in the quality of their workmanship and hope they can work through this difficult period and continue to operate.

“Councillors and senior staff have been working diligently on this issue for a long time and been well aware of the different possibilities that could arise. We’ve worked very carefully to get the bridge to a point that we will end up with a good outcome.”

Mr Brown said any circumstance where a contractor went into administration would lead to additional costs, but he was confident, through diligent management, the costs would be minimal.

Technical services director John Martin said many difficult and complex elements of bridge construction were completed before the company went into administration.

“Erection of the towers, installation of the suspension cables and deck frames represented the key elements where the skills and experience of the contractor were essential,” he said.

“The council has also secured most of the fabricated components of the bridge, with the remaining elements due to be transported to Horsham.”

Mr Martin said the council’s technical services team was now planning bridge completion using staff and sub-contractors, adding that no district contractors had originally submitted tenders for these specific works.

“We need to ensure we have suitably qualified personnel who can safely work at heights,” he said.

“Work on the bridge will commence as soon as this planning is completed.”

Mr Brown said he had been working to ensure payment to all district sub-contractors working on the project and negotiations with all but two had been finalised.

“Those final two are being processed at the moment,” he said.