Motorists will need to get used to bridges that are closed or can only bear reduced weight as the nation's bridges continue to decay, engineer Chris Champion, the chief executive of the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia, has warned.
Many councils were closing bridges or reducing their weight limits, leading to problems for vehicles forced to curtail trips or take significant detours. 'What local government tries to do before [bridges] get to the point of failing is they try to close them or restrict their weight. 'You can travel on a poor road but you can't travel on a poor or closed bridge, so it's the weak link.
Research into timber bridges by his group in 2008 found that 27 per cent were in a poor state and another 52 per cent were fair. Traditionally, road bridges are funded by local councils, but many cash-strapped municipalities have struggled to find adequate resources.
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