Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you, minister. Connected to the member for Elwick’s questioning: is the future of the Bridgewater Bridge – the old Bridgewater Bridge, which has the rail line on it – what is the government’s current plan for the Bridgewater Bridge? Because, if it is removed, as has been stated as the plan of course, that creates a very significant connectivity issue for rail. Very significant.
Mr VINCENT – Yes it is, and there’s been a lot of conversation in the 12 months that I’ve been involved with the Bridgewater Bridge. The idea of keeping the causeway is there, having them open to the public. That allows for them to stay there should there be some form of need for the connectivity again.
The bridge itself has been deteriorating for some time. That lifting mechanism is really, really struggling; it’s hardly working. The removal of that part of the bridge – it would have to be a whole new structure that goes in there.
There are some other – and I will give Mr Moloney to explain in a bit more detail, because it comes under the Bridgewater Bridge project. The removal of the existing gantry there has started, and there are some impacts on what is classed as standard navigation channel to get through there. With that, I’ll ask Mr Moloney to explain with a bit more detail.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you, Mr Moloney. Just briefly – I just make the obvious observation that to take down the bridge – rather than seeing what you can do to maintain it so that the rail connection is maintained – is extraordinarily shortsighted. Well, it seems extraordinarily shortsighted, because it instantly cuts off Hobart from the rest of the state’s rail network. It’s sort of mind‑numbing that that would be the first thing that government decided to do is take out the bridge, take out the rail connection, and cut us off.
Mr VINCENT – I’ll get Mr Moloney to talk about the structure and the deteriorating state of the structure and the cost of maintaining that structure if we had have chosen to leave it there, please.
Ms O’CONNOR – It’s all about choices in how you’ve spent your money, though, isn’t it, minister?
Mr VINCENT – It is, that’s correct. And we’ve made the choice to remove it.
Ms O’CONNOR – If your government choose to invest in a stadium.
Mr MOLONEY – In terms of the existing Bridgewater Bridge – the existing Bridgewater Bridge is actually the fourth permanent structure there in terms of the crossing, the new Bridgewater Bridge being the fifth. Had previous governments not removed previous bridges, we would have had a scattering of various structures throughout that area. In order to re-establish navigation up to New Norfolk and upriver, it is important that we do demolish the existing structure to provide that navigation access. We’re seeking to provide a 45-metre-wide navigation channel. The existing gap where the lifting span is approximately 30 metres. That would be insufficient, and it’s also not in alignment with our proposed navigation channel. In terms of –
Ms O’CONNOR – Sorry Mr Moloney, what sort of vessel needs a 45-metre navigation channel? What kind of different vessels would be going up river?
Mr MOLONEY – For safety perspective, the 45-metre-wide navigation channel is consistent with the existing defined navigation channel under the Bowen Bridge. Effectively back in the 1980s it was determined that for vessels passing each other and the types of vessels navigating the River Derwent through that area, that a 45-metre-wide navigation channel was appropriate. We’re seeking to deliver a clearance both horizontally and vertically that is consistent with the existing Bowen Bridge. In terms of the cost of demolishing the existing bridge, an awarded contract has been let for that and the works have commenced. We did provide the exact number yesterday, I believe it was $13 million.
Ms O’CONNOR – I mean $13 million to demolish it, I’m not sure how much more it would have taken to get it back in a safer standard. Again, it’s depressing, but this was the first option for government.
Mr MOLONEY – The cost of demolition is $13.162 million. The estimated cost of maintaining the existing bridge was estimated by our engineers to be between $50 and $100 million over the next 50 years. It’s safe to say that the existing bridge is in quite poor condition. It was quite challenging to maintain it as part of our National Highway network until a point at which we were able to transfer traffic onto the new bridge. It’s difficult to speculate. We haven’t done engineering assessments of the existing bridge as to whether it would be capable of carrying a modern rail network, but I would hypothesise that, if we did seek to identify whether the existing structure could be certified to carry that kind of load, I believe there would be quite significant challenges.
Ms O’CONNOR – It’s all academic now, though, isn’t it?
CHAIR – Water under the bridge, under the Bridgewater Bridge, that’s right.
