Tuesday, 28 October 2025

 Cindy McLEISH (Eildon) (01:51): (1362) I have a matter for the Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery, and the action I seek is for the minister to commit to the funding requested by the Murrindindi Shire Council to reinstate the Breakaway bridge in Acheron to meet contemporary Australian road and bridge design standards. The historic and iconic wooden trestle bridge has been inaccessible for three years since the 2022 floods ravaged the area and caused catastrophic damage. Such was the power of the enormous volume of water released from Lake Eildon that the bridge was damaged and a large section, around 30 metres, of Breakaway Road was washed away. This severed the connection within Acheron itself and between Acheron and surrounding communities like Alexandra. This also added a 17-kilometre detour for local travellers and emergency services, and if you are going to a farm across the other side of the river, it is a 30-kilometre detour.

Murrindindi Shire Council is a small rural council with very limited revenues and a relatively low rate base. They have been working with agencies to secure the crossing here. The council has received an offer from Emergency Recovery Victoria of $5.2 million to cover the construction and project costs to date, but independent advice and the council’s own assessments indicate that delivering a resilient bridge to contemporary standards will cost significantly more than this amount, hence the advocacy. ERV has indicated its funding would support construction of a 105-metre single-lane bridge with traffic signals. That is a very long single-lane bridge. Council is concerned that this option does not meet contemporary Australian road and bridge design standards. Reliance on traffic lights introduces risks in a disaster-prone area with frequent power outages, heavy fog and limited emergency access. Independent advice considers that a dual-lane bridge is the only compliant and resilient solution for this location.

People in the area are fairly sick and tired of having to do these detours all the time and look forward to a satisfactory resolution that is more convenient and easier not only for locals but for tourism. This bridge has been on the tourist trail for a long time. It is very historic and iconic and brings people to the area. It is right by the Breakaway caravan park, and I urge the government to look at this very seriously and quickly so that the reconstruction can take place in the coming 12 months.