Construction starts on Hastings River bridge in NSW

Construction has started on the new Hastings River Bridge north of Port Macquarie as part of the Australian and New South Wales (NSW) Governments’ A$820m ($598m) Oxley Highway to Kundabung upgrade.

For the Oxley Highway to Kundabung upgrade, the Australian Government has committed A$542.41m ($396m) and the NSW government is providing A$277.59m ($202m).

Scheduled to be completed by late 2017, the new Hastings River Bridge will be 570m-long and is said to be capable of withstanding a 1-in-100 year flood event.

A 23km four-lane divided road, including bridges over the Hastings and Wilson rivers will be built as part of the upgrade of the Oxley Highway to Kundabung section of the Pacific Highway.

Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss said: "This project is part of the Australian and NSW Governments’ multibillion dollar commitment to complete the Pacific Highway upgrade by the end of the decade."

Federal member for Lyne David Gillespie said: "The new Hastings River Bridge will be built about 500m west of the existing bridge."

The new Hastings River Bridge project is part of an overall A$1.05bn ($767m) investment in the highway between Port Macquarie and Kempsey over three years.

The upgrade is expected to create 933 construction jobs and more than 2,900 indirect jobs.

NSW minister for roads, maritime and freight Duncan Gay said: "Today’s event is a clear indication of the hard work being done by the NSW government to get this highway duplicated by 2020.

"The milestones are rolling in thick and fast on the whole Pacific Highway upgrade and today’s sod turn is a great example of a key achievement being reached by the project team.

"Work on this particular section of the highway is moving along nicely, with work on the Wilson River Bridge, about 10km away, well underway, and expected for completion in mid-2017."