The Wimmera Street Bridge in Dimboola will be replaced at a cost of about $3.8 million. The bridge was damaged during the February 2011 flood and therefore the cost is fully covered by the Commonwealth’s Natural Disaster Relief Arrangement fund.

On Monday 27th August, drilling works will commence at the bridge as part of the preliminary investigation required to design the new bridge. Council will drill core samples of the river bed along the length of the existing bridge.

As a result of this work, vehicular access to the bridge will be restricted. Between Monday 27th August and Friday 31st August vehicular access across the bridge will be limited during the hours of 7.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. with only one lane of 2.1 metre width being open between these hours. Large vehicles such as trucks and caravans will not be permitted to use the bridge during these hours. Traffic across the bridge between the hours of 6.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m. will be unrestricted to all traffic.

For those vehicles unable to cross the bridge during the restricted hours, an alternative route to Dimboola will be via Racecourse Road through Lochiel. Minor improvements will be made to Racecourse Road to cater for increased traffic volume. All efforts are being made to minimise delays and restrictions and Council apologises for the short-term inconvenience.