The Beni Creek rail bridge has been successfully rebuilt and reopened for trains.
The timber rail bridge was destroyed by fire in December last year, forcing a closure of the track between Dubbo and Elong Elong, and impacting freight services between Dubbo and Newcastle.
After extensive planning, demolition, design and reconstruction work, the new bridge opened yesterday (19 May) to resume normal services.
“From the moment the team sprang into action over Christmas to expedite planning and design, it’s been an intensive but smooth process, which is a credit to everyone involved, including our contracting partner Daracon Group,” said Zane Sell, ARTC a/General Manager Asset Maintenance.
“Normally, a project like this would take much longer to complete, but thanks to the hard work and collaboration of our teams, we’ve completed the rebuild in a compressed timeframe and resumed network operations ahead of schedule.”
Our teams worked with customers and operators throughout the closure to support alternative freight routes, including via the Main Western line and the recently upgraded Inland Rail corridor between Cootamundra West, Parkes and Narromine.
The new bridge is a two-span concrete ballast top structure, designed to improve load capacity and reliability, while reducing future maintenance requirements.
