Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au

Aaron Bunch
Temporary bridge to re-link key WA highway

The ADF might use a temporary combat bridge to span a flooded river to reopen the only sealed road through Western Australia’s Kimberley region.

January 11, 2022

The race is on to reopen the only sealed road through Western Australia’s flood-ravaged Kimberley region, where defence personnel could be called in to construct a combat bridge over a swollen river.

The collapsed bridge at Fitzroy Crossing is crucial to the Great Northern Highway transport route, which links the north and south of the state, and will take years to rebuild.

Tonnes of food and boxes of medical supplies have been flown into the disaster-ravaged region, where many people are isolated by floodwaters and damaged roads.

Acting WA Transport Minister John Carey said a preliminary damage assessment on Wednesday showed about half the bridge had been swept away following the once-in-a-century floods.

He told reporters one option for reopening the critical road-freight link was building a temporary structure to replace the destroyed sections.

Main Roads WA said this could involve the Australian Defence Force building a Bailey bridge, a portable pre-fabricated structure, to allow lighter vehicles to use the highway.

A spokesman told AAP preliminary discussions were underway about the temporary option, although it wouldn’t allow heavy road trains to make the crucial journey with supplies.

A low crossing on the Fitzroy River bed further north will need to be built to accommodate heavy trucks and enable construction of a permanent bridge at Fitzroy Crossing.

It will be able to take triple road trains, which can weigh up to 170 tonnes, but construction will take four months. A suitable site won’t be chosen until flood levels drop.

In the meantime, road trains with freight for Kununurra and the Northern Territory have been diverted into South Australia to travel up the Stuart Highway through central Australia.

A barge is also transporting essential goods from Port Hedland to Broome, with authorities previously saying an airlift and boats may be the only way to reach some communities with fresh produce until damaged roads are repaired.

Design and construction of a final, replacement bridge at Fitzroy Crossing will take up to two years, the department’s spokesman said.

Further assessments will need to be carried out once the water level drops further to understand why the bridge piers that held up the structure failed.

Main Roads had hoped to send divers in on Wednesday, but the spokesman said this was postponed due to the risk from fast-flowing waters, debris and crocodiles.

Mr Carey said 60 workers had also been deployed to repair accessible sections of the highway, which remains closed for 700km between Broome and Halls Creek and partially open to high-clearance vehicles in other areas.

Record major flooding continues downstream from Fitzroy Crossing at Willare amid fears the bridge and highway there could also be damaged.

Derby also remains isolated and minor flooding continues from Fitzroy Crossing to Noonkanbah, although water levels are receding rapidly.

Meanwhile, authorities continue to assess flood damage to about 130 government-owned rental homes in Fitzroy Crossing.

Mr Carey said plans for carrying out repairs and rebuilding were underway but it would take a significant amount of time to carry out the work.

“We are facing a heated construction market. This is northern Australia. It is far more difficult to get tradies here,” he said.

The flood damage was caused by ex-tropical cyclone Ellie as the storm system circled the remote town, dropping unprecedented rain last week.

The weather system has since weakened and moved over the Northern Territory and Queensland, bringing rain and thunderstorms.

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The race is on to reopen the only sealed road through the flood-ravaged Western Australian Kimberley region, where the Australian Defence Force maybe deployed to construct a combat bridge over a swollen river.

The collapsed bridge at Fitzroy Crossing is crucial to the Great Northern Highway transport route, which links the south of the state to the north, and will take years to rebuild.

Acting WA Transport Minister John Carey says engineers were on the bridge carrying out a preliminary damage assessment on Wednesday.

“About half of the bridge still remains intact,” he told reporters.

He said one option for reopening the critical road freight link could be building a temporary structure to replace the spans that had been swept away.

Main Roads WA said this could be an ADF portable Bailey bridge built into the damaged bridge, with preliminary discussions already underway.

“This would provide an early reconnection of (the highway) at Fitzroy Crossing for lighter vehicles only,” a spokesman told AAP.

The department said a Bailey bridge would potentially use the remaining sections of the damaged bridge, which are connected to the river banks on both sides of the waterway.

“The Bailey bridge cannot support the weight of triple road trains crucial to the movement of food and supplies,” the spokesman warned.

A low level crossing on the Fitzroy River bed further north will also need to be built to accommodate heavy trucks and enable construction of the new bridge once it gets underway.

It will be able to carry the same volume of traffic as the failed bridge, including triple road trains that can weigh up to 170 tonnes in weight.

Construction will take four months and a suitable site won’t be chosen until the water level drops.

A nearby concrete low level crossing built in the 1930s has been deemed too old and unstable to carry the 53.5 metre-long road trains that ply the highway with freight.

“This all has to be based on the assessment of Main Roads and any of these options are likely to … take a considerable amount of time,” Mr Carey said.

Design and construction of the final replacement bridge will take up to two years, the department said.

Further assessments will need to be carried out once the water level drops further to understand why the bridge piers that held up the structure failed.

Main Roads had hoped to send divers into the Fitzroy River to start gathering this information on Wednesday but decided against for fear it could endanger their lives.

“Waters are still fast flowing and full of moving debris,” the spokesman said.

“Visibility is also poor and there is the threat of crocodile attack.”

Mr Carey said 60 workers has also been deployed to repair accessible sections of the highway, which remains closed for 700km between Broome and Halls Creek and partially open to high-clearance vehicles in other areas.

Record major flooding continues downstream from Fitzroy Crossing at Willare, with fears the bridge and highway there may also be damaged.

Derby is also remains isolated and minor flooding continues from Fitzroy Crossing to Noonkanbah, however, the Bureau of Meteorology has said the water is receding rapidly.

Meanwhile, authorities continue to assess flood damage to about 130 government-owned rental homes in Fitzroy Crossing.

Mr Carey said plans for carrying out repairs and rebuilding were underway but it would take a significant amount of time to carry out the work.

“We are facing a heated construction market. This is northern Australia. It is far more to difficult to get tradies here,” he said.

The once-in-a-century flood damage was caused by ex-tropical cyclone Ellie as it circled the remote town three times dropping unprecedented rain last week.

The weather system has since weakened and moved over the Northern Territory and Queensland bringing rain and thunderstorms.

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