A boost for bridges

EIGHTEEN old timber rail bridges between Townsville and Cairns will be replaced in a bid to improve the crucial transport corridor’s reliability.

The State Government will today announce a $ 46 million upgrade to the bridges between Cardwell and El Arish.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said the project would support up to 120 jobs and provide a “welcome boost” to the North Queensland construction industry.

He said the work would be grouped into three tender packages based on the height of the bridges and complexity of the replacement works.

“Queensland Rail will host an industry briefing for local businesses in Townsville on 26 April and in Cairns on 27 April, to talk through the upcoming tenders,” he said.

“Following the release of the tenders this month, we anticipate that the works will commence in September this year, and be progressively completed until late 2020.”

Queensland Rail chief executive Nick Easy said the bridges would be replaced with steel and concrete structures.

“The timber bridges currently require a high level of maintenance due to the landscape of the area, which is often subject to conditions such as flooding, alongside large outlays associated with the maintenance works and timber sourcing,” he said.