Cessnock City Council (CCC) is responsible for seventy four (74) vehicular bridges and fifty nine (59) major culverts across the Local Government Area.
Bridges are an integral part of the roads and transport network. They connect many pedestrian, bike and vehicle paths.
Major bridges: bridges and other suspended structures, such as suspended decks and ramps.
Minor structures: bridges, culverts and other suspended structures that are generally minor in dimension, and may cover boardwalks and stairways, with a cross-sectional area of less than three square metres spanned by the structure.
There are also other bridges, culverts and suspended structures within Cessnock Local Government Area whose maintenance responsibility lies with other agencies.
Of the bridges, 57% or 42 bridges are timber.
Following extensive inspections and analysis of a number of bridges within the municipality, Council has implemented load limits on 15 bridges and culverts for the safety of residents and visitors. The following bridges have tonnage restrictions in place.
Load limits are placed on roads and bridges to limit use by vehicles over a certain tonnage to help preserve structural integrity.
When required Council engage external specialist bridge consulting engineers, to undertake Level 3 bridge inspections with load capacity assessments. These assessments provide a more detailed assessment of the structural components of the bridge and identify the need or otherwise for load limits to be imposed. When Council receives advice from the consultant indicating the requirement of a load limit on any bridge, the load limit signage will be installed as soon as possible, and residents notified by mail.
These inspections are used to inform the bridge maintenance program (heavy maintenance) and for identification and prioritisation of Council’s Bridge Construction Program.