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Council Adopts Bridge Evaluation System

East Gippsland Shire Council has adopted a rating system for the 214 bridges across the region for which it is responsible.

By East Gippsland Shire Council - 14th December 2006 - Back to News

Called the "Bridge Evaluation Criteria" it has been designed to determine future major repair and replacement needs for bridges within the Shire.

The system ‘scores’ the bridges according to criteria that includes their condition, whether they are on a school bus route, whether there is alternative access and the class of road on which they are situated.

In a report to Tuesday’s Council Meeting, Shire Infrastructure Manager Chris said this was a transparent and open evaluation process for the replacement and/or major repairs to East Gippsland Shire’s bridge assets.

Mr Waites said each year numerous requests were received to repair or replace bridges.

"However, due to the magnitude of the task, bridge replacement will need to be done over several years and therefore a formalised evaluation criteria is suggested to prioritise this work," he said.

"There are also a number of bridges that have been listed on the Heritage Register, with a further list being regarded as Historically Significant.

"These represent a significant ongoing financial burden which must be considered in future years."

"Since 2000, there have been 35 bridges that have had major refurbishments or have been replaced, as well as 33 other bridges that have undergone significant maintenance," he said.

"There are currently 37 bridges with load limits ranging from one to 35 tonnes, with the majority being between five and 20 tonnes."

Mr Waites said that under the new rating system a bridge could score a maximum of 10 points that would indicate it requires urgent replacement.

"On the other hand, a minimum of two points would mean that little or no work was required," he said.

"An evaluation of our bridges shows that currently one bridge has scored nine points in the new system; seven bridges, eight points; 23 bridges, seven points; 42 bridges, six points; 141 bridges, five or less points.

Mr Waites also said there were a number of bridges that have been listed on the Heritage Register and that due to their current condition have been replaced with new bridges.

"However there is an expectation that these bridges be maintained for non-vehicular traffic," he said.

"Two bridges currently in this category are the Hinnomunjie Bridge (Mitta Mitta) and the Murrindal River Bridge north of Buchan.

"The Genoa Bridge is no longer open to vehicles but needs to be maintained to a minimal level as well as which the Lakes Entrance Footbridge may fall into this category in the future."


Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com



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