Budget Blow-out at the Batemans Bay Bridge?

The Association Inc represents all form of recreational and commercial activity on the water of the South Coast of NSW.  Our members enjoy the waters off the town of Batemans Bay as well as travelling the tranquil reaches of the Clyde River to the historic trading port of Nelligen.

In 1956 a steel vertical lift truss bridge with a maximum height of 34 m was built across the Clyde at Batemans Bay.  The lifting span could be raised on request when both recreational and commercial vessel wished to travel these waterways. The Clyde River was first found to be navigable in 1854 and has been a vital link from up-stream to the sea since that time. In 2015 the Local Member and then treasurer Hon Andrew Constance announced that a new concrete bridge would be built to span the Clyde River at Batemans Bay to replace the current bridge due to “road traffic delays”. The height of this new bridge is only 12 metres.  This will deny the continued access by trading and commercial vessels plus most recreational watercraft to Nelligen.  We believe this unilateral decision by the NSW government will breach our rights of free passage under Maritime Law and may contravene a section of the Australian Constitution. The final design for the bridge was announced in 2018 and John Holland, a wholly owned Chinese company, won the tender for the construction for the sum of $274 million. The Association understands that the current built schedule is at least six months behind schedule due in part to a few significant accident which has shut down the Mogo concrete manufacturing facility. 

It is our understanding that the Transport for NSW Departmental flood modelling due diligence report has been critically reviewed and brought into question. There appears to be a blow-out in the budget with speculation that it may well be three times the allocated budget. The Association will investigate if the budget for this roads and Infrastructure project has in-fact been adjusted which, if it is the case, that will see NSW taxpayers having to fund any shortfalls.