Greater Shepparton City Council noted the awarding of a Major Culvert Renewals contract for Caniambo and Dookie at its April meeting.
The $634,622 contract was awarded to Mawson Constructions Pty Ltd.
The works involve replacing and reconstructing road culvert structures that have deteriorated beyond repair.
The culvert structures are located over natural watercourses at Bridge Rd, Caniambo, and Stewarton Rd, Dookie. They are currently being constructed under a full road closure at the site locations, with detours in place.
Works in Caniambo began on Wednesday, May 1, and are expected to last another six weeks, and works in Dookie started Monday, May 13, and are expected to last for 10 weeks.
City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali said the works were essential safety improvements for both roads.
“It is really important that we get these road culvert structures renewed, making our roads much safer for the community,” he said.
“While there will be some disruptions on these roads during the works, council will be communicating with everyone impacted to ensure they are well aware of the changes.”
The construction works will include installing compliant guard railing for each site to better suit the speed limits and use of the road. Neither of the sites currently has any form of guard railing or edge protection.
The sites were identified through council’s 2021 Level 2 Bridge Inspection Report, which informed and outlined a 10-year renewal and delivery program.
Cr Dinny Adem said he was pleased to see the projects going forward.
“These things are really needed to be upgraded for the safety of our community, so I’m glad to see that we’re moving forward on all of those projects,” he said.
At its April meeting, council also noted the requests for tender for other contracts that were being advertised but had not yet been awarded.
Many of them are road-related projects that will be awarded in the next few months.