Flooding concerns send cost of new Bromfield Street bridge above $10m

A new bridge has long been touted for that location as a way of helping ease traffic congestion into Warrnambool from the city's burgeoning north but major flooding issues in the area meant it would be a "costly" project.

Cr Angie Paspaliaris called for the council to advocate for more road and bridge infrastructure as growing housing developments direct more traffic onto already congested roads into the city. She said with more housing developments on the horizon, she wanted to see the council do more about advocating for additional road infrastructure in and around Warrnambool.

"Notedly, into central Warrnambool, so not just improving road treatments but advocacy around new major road and bridge infrastructure which I think will be needed with the rapid growth we are seeing," Cr Paspaliaris said.

"I fear the overwhelming demands placed on major arterial roads like Mortlake Road and Caramut Road will result in dangerous and frustrating traffic conditions in future, and possibility reduce liveability for a regional town like ours."

The council's chief executive officer Peter Schneider said a bridge at Bromfield Street would "probably not" be pushed up the priority list at this stage. "It is being looked at," he said.

"There are some issues with that being on floodplain. That would be quite an expensive exercise to do. It would need to be built quite high for some distance to allow for the floodplain there which adds extra expense."

With Edwards Bridge spanning a much shorter distance costing $4.6 million, Mr Schneider said one from Bromfield Street across the river to Wollaston Road would cost at least $10 million because it would have to be built on a platform.

"And then you've got the issues then of directing traffic up along past the school zones which has congestion as well at the moment," he said.

"There are a lot of things that would have to be looked at." Mr Schneider said if there was a bridge to be built over the river at that location, it may not be a a traffic bridge but rather a foot bridge for pedestrians and cyclists.

"If we are trying to encourage people to travel on bikes and alternative means of transport and getting out of cars, something along those lines might be something we have a look at," he said.

The project has been talked about for more than a decade and would be something Mr Schneider said the council would have to do a longer-term feasibility study on to see what was achievable.

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