The William Bradford Bridge has been the site of at least four major accidents since 2019. Photo: Steph Cooke MP.
Cootamundra MP Steph Cooke has reiterated her call for the NSW Government to urgently upgrade the William Bradford Bridge near Harden on the Burley Griffin Way, calling it the “most dangerous bridge” in the Riverina.
Built in the 1930s, the narrow, crumbling bridge has been the site of four major accidents since 2019, when a bus crashed injuring 28 people and leaving an elderly woman in a critical condition. In 2024, a person was killed when two cars collided with a truck transporting 500 sheep. A few months later, there was another three-vehicle collision involving a caravan.
The following year, a fuel tanker crashed into a semi-trailer.
“It has been the site of many incidents and near misses, and it’s high time that the government took the replacement of that bridge seriously on the issue of safety,” Ms Cooke said.
The NSW Government did some work on the site in 2020, when it repaired damaged safety barriers and did some concrete patching. But Ms Cooke said this was a “band-aid” response and wants the entire bridge widened or replaced.
Ms Cooke also wants an upgrade of the Canal Bridge along Irrigation Way at Narrandera, due to its narrow width and increasing traffic volumes.
“Irrigation Way is a critical thoroughfare connecting Narrandera to Leeton and the larger regional centre of Griffith,” Ms Cooke said.
“However, the bridge is so narrow and dangerous that a school bus and a B-double can’t cross at the same time from opposite directions.
“These concerns deserve the government’s immediate attention.”
Ms Cooke says transport needs in the Riverina are being neglected. Photo: Steph Cooke MP.
Rail safety is also on the National Party MP’s radar.
Near Bribbaree last year, a B-double livestock truck and a freight train collided, renewing calls to activate the currently passive level crossing on Mary Gilmore Way.
Ms Cooke said upgrades to the passive crossing were “critical”, after a technology trial at the site showed further safety measures were needed.
“We need to see that there is an active crossing with lights and boom gates,” Ms Cooke said.
“The mayor and I will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our community to make sure that happens.
“A second crossing of the Lachlan River at Cowra is very important to that community.
“They only have one today, and if something happens to that one crossing, there is no way to traverse the Lachlan River easily at that point.”
On the positive side, there have been some transport upgrades completed recently.
Last year, a new Wallendbeen Bridge on Burley Griffin Way was completed, replacing the temporary single-lane steel bridge after years of campaigning.
Safety improvements were also delivered at the Old Junee level crossing, where lights and boom gates were installed to better protect motorists travelling along Goldfields Way.
Original Article published by Oliver Jacques on Region Riverina.
