Fitzroy River Bridge: Efforts to rebuild flood-destroyed bridge a ‘huge challenge’ as new bridge opens early

When Fitzroy Bridge Alliance director Will Telfer was flown into the flood-ravaged Kimberley town in January he said it was like going into a war zone. Military aircraft buzzed over Fitzroy Crossing from dawn to dusk bringing supplies and personnel to the marooned town. Dead cattle floated down the swollen river. Massive trees which had stood for hundreds of years had been washed downstream. Enormous sections of the bank had been gouged-out making the river dozens of metres wider than before. “The devastation was pretty phenomenal,” Mr Telfer said. “Just to comprehend how much water has flooded through this valley and the heights the water reached, without seeing it, it is hard to comprehend the destruction it caused.” The old, single-lane Fitzroy River Bridge — the only sealed road connecting the West and East Kimberley — was broken, bent and unsalvageable. Fitzroy Crossing wasn’t the only town isolated by the flood, the destruction of the bridge left the East Kimberley cut-off from the rest of the State. Now, less than 12 months on, Mr Telfer said he will be smiling broadly this morning as the new bridge is officially opened six months early, saving the Kimberley from another wet season of economic hardship and food shortages. The new bridge is six times stronger than the old structure, 100m longer, and it is estimated its final cost will be close to $300 million. When Main Roads called for expressions of interest in January to build the bridge, officially they said they wanted it completed by late next year. However, Mr Telfer said the real expectation of the tendering companies was that the bridge would be built 12 months after commencement, hopefully before the next wet season. The winning consortium was Georgiou Group, BMD Constructions and BG&E. Together with Main Roads they are called the Fitzroy Bridge Alliance. Mr Telfer said it was a, “huge challenge,” to complete such a large project anywhere in Australia within a 12-month time frame. “But to do it up here, plus with the effects of the wet and dry season and the unpredictability of the weather in terms of the amount of water that can come down (the river), it is a huge task,” he said. It was also a race against time. The Fitzroy River goes from a dirt riverbed in the dry season to a 10-metre deep surging body of water in the wet. The priority for the Fitzroy Bridge Alliance was to get the bridge piles erected as fast as possible before the river began to flow. “With the water levels coming up on a typical year eight to 10 metres, if you’re at that riverbed level and you haven’t completed the tasks before the wet season kicks in, you’re going to be standing there waiting,” Mr Telfer said. “Everyone understood the importance of going through the driest part of the year and getting out of the river bed. And as it was, we managed to do that concrete column piles section in 49 days. “That was driven by design and construction thinking — and then working — 24 hours, seven days a week through that stage of the work.” But as well as victories, the project also had unexpected setbacks. Mr Telfer described as “gut-wrenching,” when unseasonal wet weather caused the river to flow during the dry season for the first time in 60 years. The team had to scramble to get pylon equipment worth $100m out of the river bed. They then watched as their low-level temporary causeway — which had just been opened to traffic — was washed away. “The causeway reconstruction was probably three times more work than the original build,” he said. In total the new bridge took 100,000 hours to build — and a quarter of those hours were completed by locals. Mr Telfer said that at various stages they had 250 local people working on the bridge. The employment opportunities the project provided have been credited for the dramatic drop in crime in town. The drive to get the bridge built went all the way to the top. Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti said the Fitzroy River Bridge had been her number one priority this year. “It was on the top because of its social and economic impact,” she said. “Not having this bridge completed would have ongoing economic and social impacts throughout the Kimberley. “I had weekly meetings with all of the transport heads and this was always one that everyone understood was an absolute priority.” The Federal Government has supported the build and is understood to have committed around $110 million to the project through the Infrastructure Betterment Program. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who visited the town after the flood, said: “I met some extraordinary residents who showed incredible strength with their determination to rebuild their community. “The work of the community recovery committee has been critical to getting us to this point. I am so pleased the Fitzroy Crossing Bridge will re-open today. “We’re partnering with the Cook Government to deliver a new Infrastructure Betterment Program, which will help safeguard local roads and bridges against future natural hazards and disasters into the future.”