Legislative Council, Tuesday 26 May 2026
Ms FORREST question to MINISTER for INFRASTRUCTURE, Mr VINCENT
I’m sure you’ve seen the ABC reporting on some concerns about the structural integrity of the foundations of the Bridgewater Bridge. Are you concerned about that, minister? If you’re not, how do we reassure Tasmanians, and me, that it’s still okay to drive back home over it?
ANSWER
Mr President, I thank the member for the question. Yes, I have seen and read the ABC article. It was disappointing because a lot of the things that were said in that article were from quite some time ago and had already been worked through around the time of the opening of the bridge. The Bridgewater Bridge is safe. There’s no doubt about that. The design of the structural elements, the new Bridgewater Bridge was undertaken by the contractor and its design engineers, all of whom have extensive experience designing and building bridges. The structural designs were reviewed and checked by a proof engineer and the overall process was reviewed and verified by an independent verifier. These activities were undertaken with the oversight of the Department of State Growth project team with support from the department’s consultant technical advisors. Additional verification was obtained on a range of technical matters from the contractor and its design engineers, the proof engineer and the independent verifier. The proof engineer and the independent verifier all certified the final structural designs as being compliant and fit for purpose, including the pile designs. I wish to reiterate again; the Bridgewater Bridge is safe. When all this happened earlier on at the opening, we went through quite an extensive process to make sure that, as far as humanly possible, all boxes had been ticked, and we’ve been reassured that they have.