Richmond Bridge and its approaches connect the Richmond and Richmond North town centres and are highly utilised by a range of vehicle types. They only have one lane in each direction and are at capacity during peak periods. The bridge provides a vital crossing of the Hawkesbury River, however in its current form, is vulnerable to flooding closures. Traffic volumes are expected to significantly increase with planned future land use developments in the region.
Flooding causes the Richmond Bridge to be closed for 30 hours on average per year, with flood clean-up and damage costs estimated to be $1.1 million per flood. When the bridge is closed, vehicles must detour approximately 46 kilometres to 150 kilometres via Penrith, Richmond, Marsden Park and Windsor.
The project supports NSW Government, Hawkesbury City Council and Australian Government objectives to deliver infrastructure that supports sustainable urban development and housing, and improved flood resilience in the Hawkesbury-Nepean floodplain. The project also aligns to the Australian Government’s Infrastructure Policy Statement, which emphasises the importance of efficient, resilient and safe transport networks.
The main community benefits of the project are travel time savings, resulting from improving traffic flow through the provision of additional road capacity and intersection improvements. Flood resilience is the second largest benefit, attributable to more reliable access between Richmond and North Richmond during flood events and the associated avoided transport detour costs for affected vehicles.
Deliverability
The project is developed to 80% concept design, which provides confidence in the constructability and the cost estimates. Risks and mitigations have been appropriately identified and included in the cost estimate, and a cost risk assessment has been undertaken.
The Delivery Strategy identifies several risks that are likely to occur (80% likelihood), including community opposition, flooding during construction, traffic management activities, utility relocations, and property acquisition and access delays.
Next Steps
Infrastructure Australia supports the New Richmond Bridge and Traffic Improvements Stage 2 project.
We recommend the Australian Government work with the NSW Government to confirm agreed costs, scope and funding contributions.
