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/

Stewart Road, Kernot has been closed to all traffic at the Bass River because of structural concerns with the timber bridge.

The ends of the bridge are unsafe for all traffic. The bridge already has a 20 Tonne Load limit however, overloading by heavy vehicles has caused significant and rapid deterioration, making it unsafe for the safe passage of all vehicles at this time.

Detailed Engineering Investigations have been scheduled to assess the damage and provide options to re-instate traffic. More information about this will be available in the coming few weeks.

In the meantime, there will be a detour in place for through traffic:

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.