Tharwa Bridge to be Repaired Rather Than Replaced

There’s also a lot of concrete at the base of this supposed bridge that was built 140 years ago or whatever. To me, it looks like a shite construction that was built as a temporary bridge until they could build a better one anyway.

Look Val Jeffery you miserable sod what Stanhope has said:

“Work will be done to restore the existing bridge and will be completed in 2-3 years. The bridge will be able to take a load of 44 tonnes making it available to general traffic.

“A conservation management plan will be developed by Heritage ACT for the ongoing conservation and protection of the bridge.

“A staged approach to restoration will be implemented— and the bridge will be closed to traffic for fixed periods of time.”

“It is estimated that this option will cost approximately $14 million, plus approximately $100,000 a year for maintenance costs.”

Stanhope is saying this will cost $5M more than building a concrete bridge that would have been completed by September THIS YEAR!!! FFS!!!!!!!

Piecemeal if they want a quick fix.

If they want to rebuild it and keep the same style look at a 2 year program.

My big question is; will they actually fix the bridge properly this time, or will the ACT Govt waste more money doing a piecemeal job this time around too?

Al, you missed the irony. 😉

Go to the “Art, but not as we know it” story for both the root of my original comment here and for my more considered critique of the sculpture.

Well that’s a good outcome for people speaking up, and – credit where it’s due – the government listening.

And HC: some of us don’t mind that Stipa sculpture. I’m pleased that there is recognition of the value of doing things outside just “roads, rates, rubbish”. Art contributes to the culture of a society. If you waited until there was nothing else “more important” to spend budget funds on, there would never be any art – anywhere.

Similarly, the LDA has made a good effort with the art in Mullion Park in Harrison and to have urban art in a suburban environment is almost unheard of (even if I don’t personally like the particular poetry used in it).

And the symbolism of the various pieces reminds us of the heritage and role of the area before it was subsumed under a plethora of ugly brick veneer Defence houses…

Nine Million dollars doesn’t buy much these days does it???

They can use the steel from the Barton Highway sculpture thing to make the bridge and replace the sculpture with the V-2 rocket. How many times do we have to tell them.

And bury that sculpture of dodgy Grassby in concrete underneath it.

Kind of poetic really, as that’s the kind of things his mates liked to do to people!

I think they could save money and use the timber from the SEIV X memorial and the steel from the contrivance beside the Barton Hwy at Gungahlin for building materials. No guarantee it would survive the first car driving over it of course, but it would rid us of two public monstrosities.

Now the govt will proceed with a tender for a safety report of the old bridge, which will take 12 months to complete the RFT. Then the contractor will take 12 months to declare the bridge totally unsafe, and we will be back here again in 2 years time, ready to tender for a new bridge.

Meanwhile the people of Gungahlin still have to look at their “native grass” sculpture.

Thats great news – The bridge is heritage listed. On top of that at least Thawanians can get to canberra the short way when Pt Hut x-ing is in flood rather than have to go through cotter.

Thanks Spectra.

ABC News link