East Kimberley businesses hopeful the new Fitzroy River Bridge may be open to freight by the new year

East Kimberley businesses are preparing for the worst this wet season but hoping for the best with rumours the new Fitzroy River Bridge could have one lane open by the new year. East Kimberley Chamber of Commerce and Industry has advised businesses to start stockpiling ahead of the temporary causeway over the Fitzroy River being submerged this wet season cutting off the region by sealed road from the rest of the State. However, Western Roads Federation CEO Cam Dumesny said Main Roads was making “fantastic progress,” on the new bridge at Fitzroy Crossing and the transport industry was hopeful it would be accessible this wet season. “We are really happy with how Main Roads is going. As an industry we are really hopeful they will have something open for us by the new year,” he said The launching of the new bridge from the western bank began last month and it is progressing at 36m every eight days. It’s scheduled to reach the other side of the river by November. After that, work will be undertaken to “tie in” the road to the bridge. Traffic barriers will then be installed followed by sealing, asphalting, lighting and line-marking. The temporary two-lane low-level causeway was closed on September 13 to allow Main Roads crews to begin work on the embankment and platform construction for the new Fitzroy River Bridge. All traffic has been diverted on to the single-lane causeway 4km upstream with some restrictions for road trains and large vehicles. This will be used until it is submerged in the wet season which usually begins in November. EKCCI CEO Clare Smith said there was s a lot of hope the new bridge would be open not long after that. “There is a lot of hope around the rumours that the bridge may be open pre-Christmas,” she said. Despite the optimismm, EKCCI is asking businesses to prepare for another wet season when they could be cut off by road for weeks at a time. “Where possible order extra stock that you know you will need for the upcoming season. Have a backup option from another State that can also fulfil your orders,” they have advised members on their Facebook page. Last wet season the Kimberley experienced a once-in-100-year flood which destroyed the old Fitzroy River Bridge. Road trains carrying freight from Perth to the East Kimberley were forced to go the long way around via Port Augusta in South Australia and the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory adding 2000km to the trip. At one stage, the Victoria Highway in the Northern Territory was also flooded for several days leaving authorities scrambling to get essential supplies into the East Kimberley by air and barge. A Main Roads spokeswoman said they were working to open the bridge as soon as possible. “Great progress is being made with the bridge deck launching process just about completed. We are working to get the bridge open as soon as possible and we hope to provide an update on the timings in the coming weeks.”