Hawkesbury City Council has officially opened the new Upper Colo Bridge at a community thank you celebration on Sunday, 2 July 2023.
The new concrete bridge provides a flood and bushfire resilient crossing of the Colo River on Colo Heights Road. It replaces the original 1936 timber bridge that was washed away in the March 2021 flood.
At just over $3 million, the bridge provides a single lane for vehicles plus space for pedestrians and cyclists to safely cross. The heritage of the original bridge has been honoured with the inclusion of wooden kerbs on the new bridge.
Bench seating and interpretive signage reflecting on indigenous history in the Colo region, European colonisation and the history of the timber bridge – all fashioned from the original bridge timbers – were also installed near the bridge.
Hawkesbury City Mayor Sarah McMahon thanked the community for their patience during the complicated reconstruction process, which was delayed by three additional floods in 2022.
“This bridge is an incredibly important piece of infrastructure for the Upper Colo and surrounding communities, and its reconstruction now means that local residents have a bridge they can rely on for generations to come,” Mayor McMahon said.
“This project is one of $35 million of flood road repairs have been carried out over the past 12 months, as Council works through a $240 million repair program that involves nearly a quarter of our roads.
“There is still a lot of work to be done, but we are committed to restoring, and where possible improving, our flood damaged roads as quickly as possible.
“I thank the residents for their patience and input during the rebuild, and it was wonderful to be able to celebrate the opening with them on Sunday.”
The Upper Colo Bridge replacement was funded through Federal and State Government infrastructure recovery programs.
Visit our Renewing Hawkesbury’s Roads information hub for daily updated information on our entire road repairs program.
