NSW bridges are ageing, minister admits

Funding from the federal government is needed to upgrade ageing and potentially dangerous bridges. Source: AAP

FUNDING from the federal government is needed to help upgrade ageing and potentially dangerous bridges and structures in NSW, state Roads Minister Duncan Gay says.

The NSW government has committed to improving road safety and freight productivity by replacing or upgrading bridges over the next five years at 17 locations across the state.

The announcement follows a joint Fairfax/University of Technology Sydney investigation into bridges at risk of collapse.

The report of the study said Gosford Council had ignored warnings from engineers to repair a rusted culvert, which gave way and killed five people in 2007.

Mr Gay says there's no denying there are council-owned bridges and structures which are ageing in regional NSW.

"We have a massive task ahead of us, working with local councils, to work through this huge backlog of outdated infrastructure across the state," he said in a statement.

"This is because, due to either the sheer size of the structure or its heavy maintenance schedule, these bridges are beyond the local council's financial capability," he said.

Although most bridges fall under the jurisdiction of local councils, Mr Gay said the state government maintained 188 bridges on local and regional roads.

In October last year, the government introduced a $145 million program to be rolled out over five years to improve road safety and freight productivity by replacing or upgrading bridges at 17 key locations across country NSW.

"We're seeking matching funding from the federal government to make this a $290 million program," Mr Gay said.

In 2011, the federal government dumped a program that had been in place for five years to replace timber bridges.

The NSW government had allocated more than $1.35 billion toward the maintenance of roads in the state, which included $170 million of grant payments made to councils this financial year as a contribution to the management of regional roads and bridges, Mr Gay said.

"This financial year more than $5.7 million has been allocated to Kempsey, Clarence and Kyogle Shire councils to address road and bridge maintenance on regional roads," he said.

"We're doing what we can to help local government, but councils need to make clear decisions as to where funding should be allocated in their local area."

But he stressed that councils should not be wholly dependent on state funds for the upgrades.

"Councils also receive funding from their local rates and the federal government, and if bridges are deteriorating or need replacing, councils need to prioritise funding for the work," he said.

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