Ministerial visit after delays to Cohen’s Bridge re-opening

The state’s regional roads minister has made a brief visit to Gunnedah amid rising tensions over the extended closure of Cohen’s Bridge.

Frustrations are high in the community after bridge’s re-opening was pushed back by a month.

The heritage-listed bridge – one of the oldest in NSW – connects Gunnedah town centre to northern farming areas.

The transport link has been undergoing maintenance since August 2024 but closed to all traffic for the last three months.

According to Transport for NSW, this full closure is to allow the safe removal and replacement of the existing concrete deck on the bridge.

Many landholders north of the Namoi River have aired their grievances about the apparent slow progress of work.

A recent extension to the bridge closure has further inflamed tensions.

The bridge is now expected to re-open to traffic by June 30 but maintenance work will continued until late 2026.

Regional roads minister Jenny Aitchison recently made an appearance at the site alongside Gunnedah Shire Council.

The minister explained how a combination of Tropical Cyclone Alfred – which drew resources to other areas in the state – and the prospect of a “potential flood event” in the Gunnedah area, had slowed progress on the bridge repairs.

“We understand the frustration in the community,” Minister Aitchison told the Gunnedah Times.

“But this bridge is one of the oldest in NSW.

“The real benefit will be when we get this bridge up and running.

“We’re focused on getting the work done as quickly as possible.”

Gunnedah shire mayor Colleen Fuller has heard the frustrations from the community about the bridge closure and the extended delays.

The mayor said the work hours are limited to the contracted arrangement of the heritage project

“If they can’t get the expertise in our town, they need to find [the workers] elsewhere,” Cr Fuller said.

“We can’t fight it, just need to go with it.”

The mayor appreciated the visit by the Minister who she said stayed beyond the original time allocated.

“She was here for two hours,” Cr Fuller said.

“At least she came to look [at the bridge] … she gave us a good hearing.”

Although no new grants were immediately available for local government road funding, Minister Aitchison said the government is delivering a significant increase in disaster relief funding.

She said prior to the natural disasters in 2022, only $190 million a year was allocated for disaster recovery for roads. But that figure is now more than $820 million each year, as councils request more assistance for repairs.

“We are starting to see an escalation and we need to get that work done,” she said.

The Minister also highlighted how the government is working to speed up delivery of disaster funding through ‘Tripartite Agreements’.

Gunnedah Shire Council is a signatory to these agreements.

Before the Tripartite Agreements were introduced, councils had to spend their own money to undertake the repairs and then claim the costs back through the Australian and NSW Governments Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

Gunnedah council was vocal about the delays this caused to reconstruction work being undertaken after the flood events of 2021 and 2022.

Then mayor Jamie Chaffey said: “We have also been unable to address some of the road damage sustained in the floods – in some cases going back nearly three years. The promised disaster relief is still to come.”

But with these new agreements in place, Minister Aitchison said councils can access “upfront payments of 20 per cent” before official funding approvals are in place.

“This gives council certainty to go to tender with confidence,” she said.

Gunnedah was in November 2024 named in tranche three of councils to be included in the Tripartite Agreements.

Construction work is ongoing at Cohen’s Bridge, Gunnedah.