South Warrnambool bridge reopens after $4.6m replacement project

Concrete stencilling on what will be the pedestrian walkways have been done to look like the historic timber it replaces.

Abel Farrell, coordinator of project management for the city council, said not many developments had a feature like it.

"It's a new idea to town. It's a bit of a throw-back to the old bridge," he said.

Temporary fencing and bollards have been erected to allow vehicles and pedestrians access to the bridge until the railing arrives in the next month.

The bridge will not have to close for the railings to go on, but traffic management would be in place when works were carried out.

Mr Farrell said the council was happy with how the project went. "By every metric we measure projects on, it's been a success," Mr Farrell said. Those measures include safety, environment, quality, cost and timing.

Historic timber from the old bridge - which dates back to 1894 - will be reused in signage and the amenity block in the Lake Pertobe area. "It lives on," Mr Farrell said.

The bridge was built by contractor Maca with mostly local subcontractors working on the construction.

The $4.6 million bridge has been funded with the help of a $2 million grant from the federal government's bridges renewal program.

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