By Max Davies
THE latest stage of the Bridge Inn Road upgrade started earlier this month as two large cranes began placing beams to form a new 68-metre bridge over Plenty River in Mernda.
The Mernda community had the chance to view the cranes as they placed eight 55-tonne beams for the bridge on May 19 before works were halted on Saturday morning due to inclement weather.
Senior project manager James Brauer said the beam lift had progressed well despite the delays.
“We had a really productive night and they managed to get all the centre beams in which was a big effort,” he said.
“We have contingency built into the weekend’s program so we’re still confident – although it’s weather dependent – that we’ll be able to have it finished this weekend.”
The new bridge will serve as part of the duplication of Bridge Inn Road, however the original bluestone bridge over Plenty River will be retained and repurposed as a shared use path for pedestrians and cyclists.
Once the beams are in place, workers will begin to lay down a membrane that will serve as a foundation for the concrete that will be poured to create the road base.
“Once we’ve done this, we’re going to be concentrating on trying to get the traffic over to the newly-constructed southern carriageway, and that’s going to happen in stages over the next few months,” Mr Brauer said.
“[The project] is on schedule to be delivered in 2025, and we’ve faced our challenges like every project, but the project team has done a really good job of mitigating them. We’re in a strong position.”
Member for Yan Yean Lauren Kathage said it was encouraging to see the community interested in the works.
“It’s been lovely to see young families here. The kids are very interested in the cranes and what they’re doing, but equally we’ve had some older members of the community, who might be former tradies, who have come down to have a look,” she said.
“It’s something exciting for our community. It’s exciting now while it’s happening, but it’s also exciting that we’re going to have this fantastic upgrade to the road.”
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