Violet Street Bridge replacement

The completion of the replacement Violet Street Bridge has been delayed until mid-November, due to difficult ground conditions encountered during piling, resulting in an adjustment to the overall project timeline.

The project is now programmed to be finished and open to traffic in mid-November 2026, subject to weather conditions.

Council is currently working with the project’s contractor on anticipated cost increases due to the adjusted program schedule. A report regarding these costs will be presented to Councillors at next month’s Ordinary Council Meeting.

Despite the program adjustment, works are continuing at a steady pace, with installation of the precast pile caps for Pier 3 and Pier 2 as well as construction of the abutment on the Tibbereena Street side. Steel fixing has also been completed for the abutment on the Selina Street side.

Upcoming works for the remainer of this month will focus on construction of the Pier 2 and Pier 3 blade walls.

Next month will involve the construction and installation of the precast pile cap for the Pier 1 pile group and the Pier 1 blade wall, along with demolition of existing bridge piers. Construction of the headwalls for each pier will also take place, as will construction of Abutment A.

September will see works move to the installation of bridge girders and construction of the bridge deck.

Read the full update.

The replacement of Narrabri’s Violet Street Bridge has achieved a major milestone with completion of foundation piling works on the project.

The final pile was driven on 24 June for the bridge’s abutment on the Selina Street end of the bridge, marking the completion of these works.

The first concrete pour for the abutment at the Tibbereena Street end of the bridge has also been completed.

All pier piles are being cut down to the design level, while steelwork for pile caps for each pier is underway.

Focus will also move to demolition of the old bridge piers, which were used to support the temporary pile guide frames. These existing bridge piers are scheduled to be demolished in mid-July.

In addition to demolition of existing piers, the bridge’s next milestone will include the construction of the pile caps, blade piers and the abutment at the Selina Street end of the bridge.

This is expected to take approximately six weeks, after which construction of the headstocks and placement of the girders will take place – and another step closer to completion of new Violet Street Bridge.

Read the full update.

Piling works are continuing on foundations for the new Violet Street Bridge, with Pier 1 completed on 17 June. Abutment A is scheduled to be completed by 26 June.

This will complete all piling works associated with the new bridge.

Pier 2 and Pier 1 piles will now be cut down to the design level, while the concrete pour for Abutment B is scheduled for the week commencing 22 June.

Steelwork for the pile caps for each pier is also currently in progress.

The existing bridge piers that have been used to support the temporary pile guide frames are scheduled to be demolished in mid-July.

Works are moving ahead on the Violet Street Bridge project with piling in progress.

This stage includes the installation of temporary supports on existing bridge piers to assist with the piling works.

The bridge piers will be demolished once piling for the new bridge is completed.

Councillors took the opportunity to visit the site on 15 April, viewing progress of the project firsthand.

Works to remove the old Violet Street Bridge are continuing as part of its replacement with a stronger, wider and more accessible bridge.

The old bridge deck has been removed with the next phase moving onto piling works for the new bridge foundations. This will include the installation of temporary supports on the existing bridge piers to assist with these piling works.

Once piling has been completed, demolition of the old bridge piers will be undertaken.

A detour route is in place along Selina Street, Newell Highway and Tibbereena Street. This detour will remain in place throughout the duration of the works.

Read the full media release.

The Violet Street Bridge replacement is set to take a significant step forward with works to get underway on the project next week.

The project’s work site will be established from today (12 January), with the bridge to be closed from 19 January – prior to the start of demolition works from Wednesday, 21 January.

A detour will be in place along Selina Street, Newell Highway and Tibbereena Street for the duration of the works, which are scheduled to be completed by the end of September 2026 (depending on weather and other factors that may affect the timeline).

The bridge replacement is being undertaken by Saunders Civilbuild Pty Ltd, which was awarded the contract at November’s Extraordinary Council Meeting. Saunders Civilbuild has delivered a number of bridges within the region, including in Narrabri Shire.

Read the full media release.

The tender for the Violet Street Bridge replacement project has been awarded at yesterday’s Extraordinary Council Meeting.

The tender for the contract was awarded to Saunders Civilbuild Pty Ltd.

The company has strong bridge building experience, having delivered a number of bridges within the region and Narrabri Shire during the past several years.

The Violet Street Bridge replacement project will see the removal of the existing bridge and replaced with a concrete and steel reinforced structure as well as upgraded road approaches.

Overhead lighting near the bridge will be removed starting Tuesday, 11 November. All bridge construction planning and preparation works will be completed by Christmas, ready for demolition of the existing bridge to commence in early January 2026.

Construction of the new Violet Street Bridge is anticipated to be completed by the end of September 2026, depending on weather and other factors that may affect the timeline. A detour will be in place throughout the duration of the works.

Read the full media release.

The tender is now out for construction of the new Violet Street Bridge over Narrabri Creek. The tender advertisement follows completion of the project’s detailed design.

Tenders for the project will close at 11.00am Tuesday, 14 October 2025.

Following evaluation of tenders, a report will be presented at an Extraordinary Council Meeting for Councillors’ consideration to award the contract.

The tender advertisement for the Violet Street Bridge replacement project can be found on Council’s website.

Read the full media release.

Media release - 2 September 2025

Preparations are underway for the construction of the new Violet Street Bridge over Narrabri Creek.

The project will see the removal of the existing bridge and replaced with a concrete and steel reinforced structure as well as upgraded road approaches.

The new bridge will feature unrestricted load capacity, dual traffic lanes, shared pathways along both sides and new overhead street lighting.

The $7 million project has been made possible with the contribution of $5 million through the Infrastructure Betterment Program jointly funded by the Australian and NSW Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

Tender documentation was currently being prepared, with the project’s tender expected to be advertised this month. A report is proposed to be presented at the October Ordinary Council Meeting for Councillors’ consideration to award the contract.

Upon successful award of the contract and subject to the contractor’s program, site works will commence from mid to late November, beginning with demolition of the existing bridge.

Construction of the new bridge is anticipated to be completed by the end of September 2026, depending on weather and other factors that may affect the timeline. A detour will be in place throughout the duration of the works.

Narrabri Shire Council Mayor Darrell Tiemens said the resulting Violet Street Bridge will be a safer, wider bridge that will cater for all vehicles as well as pedestrians and cyclists.

“While the current Violet Street Bridge is load limited, its replacement will be built to current bridge standards allowing unrestricted heavy vehicle access.

“Further, each side of the bridge will feature a shared pathway for pedestrians and cyclists, which will connect to our existing shared pathway network.”

The new structure will also decrease the time required to remove barriers during flood events. This means the bridge will not need to close as early as per previous flood events – reducing disruption for residents and road users.

Read the full media release.