Briars Sharrow Road during a flood in 2021. Photo: Ashley Warwick.
Further planning for a new bridge near Captains Flat is afoot after the local council committed to making sure it can still be accessed in wet weather.
During heavy rain, a low-level causeway along Briars Sharrow Road becomes impassable, which leaves several farms cut off.
The issue has long affected nearby residents, and Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) called for federal government funding to solve the issue in 2022.
Earlier this year, it awarded a contract for a new bridge.
But council documents state a QPRC committee has heard evidence that, despite its plans, access to the new (and higher) bridge could still be cut off by flooding.
“[Past flooding patterns indicate] that while the bridge itself would raise the road above the level of the flooding river, the access points could be flooded leaving a large, expensive concrete island,” the papers state.
The issue was briefly discussed at a recent meeting, in which councillors unanimously agreed to press ahead with consideration of further flood mitigation measures.
Councillor Mark Schweikert called for his fellow councillors to support the plan.
“It was brought up at traffic committee that although we’ve got this lovely concrete bridge that’s going to fix a lot of the flooding issues, that sometimes that river does flood a little bit over to where the entrance [of the] bridge is.
“It’d be a bit silly – having this great, big $9 million island during a flood.”
At a meeting earlier this year, councillors voted to accept an $8 million design and construction contract for a major upgrade. The contract was awarded to Woden Civil Contractors Pty Ltd.
It means the existing Briars Sharrow Bridge crossing will be replaced with a new two-lane concrete structure, while road approaches will be updated.
The new bridge will be more than 80 metres long, 9 metres wide and will be constructed 4 metres higher than the existing crossing.
The road closure (shown in red) is expected to last for about a year. Image: Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council.
To allow for construction, a section of Briars Sharrow Road between Plains and Captains Flat roads will be closed for much of 2026.
The council initially planned for the closure to start in late March, but has seen delays.
“However, while the contractor is currently doing some site setup and preparation works, the road closure now won’t be in place until 15 April,” a spokesperson wrote on social media last month.
Once it starts, it’s expected the closure will last until December.
The vote means councillors will receive a report about how to ensure access points to the new Briars Sharrow Bridge aren’t impacted by flooding.
It is set to be received before the project finishes, so councillors can consider including items in budget deliberations.
Cr Schweikert said he believed this would ensure the “investment is actually sound”.
Updates can also be found through the Briars Sharrow Bridge upgrade page on the council’s website.
