Update on progress towards the reconstruction of the Stewart Road Bridge

Council remains strongly committed to securing a favourable funding outcome and preparing to move forward as soon as possible.

Grant Application Status

Council has submitted an application for funding under the State Government’s Safe Local Roads and Infrastructure Program (SLRIP). While we have not yet received an outcome, the application is currently under review and we expect news from the department in October 2025.

In addition, our CEO and Mayor recently met with Minister Catherine King’s office in Canberra. At this meeting, we discussed our submitted application, reinforced the critical impacts of the bridge closure on our community, and sought advice on when a funding response might be expected. Council remains very much engaged with Minister King’s office as we await further news.

Project Progress

In parallel with awaiting the grant decision, Council has been working through necessary planning and approvals to ensure the project is ready to progress quickly once funding is confirmed. Recent steps include:

Next Steps

We understand how important this project is for our community and emergency services, particularly after the extended bridge closure. Council is planning and preparing now so that we can move forward as soon as funding is secured. Our Infrastructure team have advised that we are targeting early 2026 for commencing construction of the works, subject to funding confirmation and contractor availability. This will be brought forward in line with announcements as they come.

We also want to clarify recent activity observed at the bridge site. These works were part of the design process and preparatory assessments, not the commencement of reconstruction.

Council greatly values the advocacy and patience shown by the community throughout this process. Council officers are available to answer any questions, and we encourage community members to reach out at any time. We will provide another update as soon as more news becomes available.

Background

Bass Coast Shire Council is committed to managing road assets effectively under the Road Management Act 2004, ensuring safety standards and compliance with legislative obligations.

Between January and March 2025, several structural assessment reports on the Stewart Road Bridge were undertaken. Due to several reports of overloading from late 2024 to early 2025, officers closed the bridge due to safety concerns. A detailed engineering inspection in March 2025 confirmed the bridge is 'unsafe' and recommended immediate closure until repairs could be undertaken.

Repair Proposal

The proposal for the Stewart Road Bridge upgrade project aims to address key structural and safety issues while maintaining the current alignment, location and number of lanes. Council appreciates the local heritage value of the bridge. While the new structure will meet modern standards, retaining and showcasing timber elements remains a priority.

Five repair and upgrade options were considered, but Council officers determined that only two were feasible:

• Option 1: Repair to 5-tonne load rating with a 20+ year service life to allow vehicular traffic but restrict truck movements. Whilst this seemed logical and less costly, this requires ongoing management; inspection needed when overloaded and potential shut down; only allows passenger car movement and not emergency services.

• Option 2: Upgrade to a standard Victorian road load rating (44-tonne limit) with a 50+ year service life. This option was considered best for managing ongoing overloading issues and will give the least disruption to the community in the long term.

Other options included repairs to 12-tonne load ratings with varying service lives and building a new dual lane bridge in an adjacent location. The latter was dismissed due to high costs, lack of strategic justification and desire to maintain the route as a local road.

While this upgrade supports safety and durability, Council has no intention of upgrading the surrounding road or designating Stewart Road as a freight route.

The bridge has been repeatedly overloaded, even with the 20-tonne restriction in place, and has now been deemed unsafe. A lighter duty repair would leave the structure vulnerable to ongoing closures and high monitoring costs, without a long-term solution. These closures have real impacts, not only on the daily lives of residents, but on emergency access, farm operations, financial planning and the integrity of the structure itself. The option being pursued ensures longevity, improves safety and provides a 50+ year design life.

Design

Below, you will find essential details about the proposed design and visual highlights of the project.

The proposed design ensures no changes to the alignment or number of lanes and retains much of the existing structure to honour the historical nature of the bridge.

The image below shows that the design of the existing bridge will be largely retained but outlines the significant work required to allow it to reopen.

Council staff have spoken with numerous stakeholders within the Kernot community to understand the use and purpose of the bridge.

Initially consideration was given to carry out minor works to allow reopening for only passenger vehicles in the short-term. However, further investigation found that any works to reopen the bridge will be costly and lengthy.

Therefore, the decision has been made to reconstruct and strengthen the bridge to support heavier vehicle use that supports all the community’s current and future needs.

The detailed design is underway, and Council are actively seeking co-funding for the reconstruction works to reopen the bridge as soon as possible.

Council has now received and reviewed the Detailed Engineering Report for the bridge.

The report has confirmed that significant damage has occurred, largely due to overloading. Unfortunately, this means that all potential repair options will require major works.

Council is currently progressing with the necessary design and costing work to better understand what is involved in reopening the bridge.

The bridge will remain closed for the foreseeable future to ensure everyone’s safety.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through this process and will continue to keep the community informed as more information becomes available.

Engineers Wood Research and Development have completed the detailed assessment of the Stewart Rd Bridge and have identified a number of structural damage issues.

The investigation report is expected to be produced by mid-April. Following the report, work on designing the repairs will start. When Council knows the nature of the repairs required, further updates will be provided.

The Engineers, Wood Research and Development (WRD) will be on-site at the Stewart Road bridge Tuesday March 25 to carry out the detailed inspection. The bridge is currently closed to all traffic. The inspection will determine the extent of damage and provide options for repairs. WRD are the leader in timber bridge testing and repairs: https://woodrandd.com/

Please note that access to properties will not be directly impacted. We apologise for the inconvenience to motorists and to the community affected by this detour, however Public Safety is our highest priority.