Tharwa Bridge

Background

Built in 1895, Tharwa Bridge is the oldest standing bridge in the ACT.

The bridge:

• Was entered in the ACT Heritage Register in 1998
• Is listed by the National Trust of Australia (ACT); and
• Was entered on the Register of the National Estate by the Australian Heritage Commission in 1983.

In 1965 load restrictions were imposed on the bridge to 25 tonne and then again in 1977 to 5 tonne. In 2006 the bridge was closed due to safety concerns.

The ACT Government had allocated funding to build a new bridge in Tharwa but wanted to seek the community’s views on options for Tharwa Bridge.

Further information about Tharwa Bridge is available here: Historical Tharwa Bridge

How the consultation was done?

The Government sought community feedback on four options.
These were:

• Option 1—proceeding with the decision to build a new bridge;
• Option 2—rebuilding the bridge for light traffic—essentially returning the bridge to its original capacity;
• Option 3—rebuilding the bridge to carry a 44-tonne weight (a fully-laden semi-trailer); or
• Option 4—rebuilding the bridge to carry 44 tonnes and raising the deck to cope with a one-in-a-hundred-year flood

Outcome—23 January 2008

Chief Minister Jon Stanhope has announced that following community consultation and advice from experts, the ACT Government will retain the existing Tharwa Bridge and provide design construction to allow for general traffic to use the bridge. This will cost the ACT Government approximately $14 million.

During the community consultation, 743 completed surveys were returned and 1000 ACT residents were contacted via a random telephone survey. 
 
For more information, please refer to the information below:

• Tharwa Bridge Newsletter—March 2008 ( PDF 83Kb)
• Tharwa Bridge Fact Sheet - Option 3 ( PDF 75Kb)
• Final Report - Tharwa Bridge Consultation 8 January 2008 ( PDF 350Kb)
• Chief Ministers Media Release 

For more information contact Canberra Connect on 13 22 81