Local

Kemp Street gap closes in massive weekend of rail works

Published

10 hours ago

September 14, 2026

ALL 16 concrete girders have now been installed on Junee’s new Kemp Street bridge, closing the gap over the rail corridor and giving locals the clearest indication yet of how the finished overpass will look.

The final span was lifted into place over Edgar Street late Monday afternoon, completing one of the largest and most complex stages of the bridge’s construction.

The milestone came exactly one year after the former bridge deck was cut apart and craned out on September 14, 2025, exposing the rail corridor below.

Twelve girders were delivered and installed across the central and western sections over the weekend, with six lifted on Saturday and another six on Sunday.

Together with the first span installed on August 21, that left three girders to complete the eastern side on Monday.

The 700-tonne Borger crane was dismantled on the western side of the corridor on Sunday night before being relocated to Edgar Street and reassembled without the large boom extension used to reach across the main railway lines.

Among the final spans installed was the girder which had remained on the Edgar Street roadway since last month’s stand-down.

The original lifting operation was abruptly suspended after the first span was installed on August 21, when the Junee Bulletin understands the crane slewed into a designated danger zone over the active rail corridor.

The operation was paused while a safety reassessment of the lifting method was carried out and an investigation into the breach launched.

Each of the 16 girders weighs between 44 and 48 tonnes and will support the deck of the new overpass.

While their installation has closed the structural gap across the corridor, considerable work remains before the bridge can reopen to traffic.

Crews must now construct the bridge deck, barriers, approaches and connecting road infrastructure.

The completion of the girder lifts was one of several major operations undertaken across Junee during Inland Rail’s 96-hour track possession.

UNDERPASS REOPENS

The Olympic Highway underpass reopened to road traffic and pedestrians on Monday morning following a continuous 60-hour closure.

Scaffolding was erected beneath the rail bridge to allow workers to remove and replace its ageing timber transoms, which support the rails across the open deck.

The closure had temporarily left the central level crossing as the only road link between the eastern and western sides of Junee, with all traffic crossing the corridor funnelled through the town centre.

The underpass reopened as scheduled at 6am Monday, restoring the northern crossing and easing pressure on the central route.

Rail and associated work above the underpass will continue after the road reopening, with crews also readjusting, tamping and destressing the track.

OLD FOOTBRIDGE REMOVED

Another major change to Junee’s railway precinct unfolded at the station, where the long-decommissioned pedestrian footbridge was dismantled and removed.

Crews began stripping the century-old structure on Saturday morning, including removing the old lamps attached to it.

A crane was assembled at the site during the afternoon before a lifting frame was connected to the main deck.

Workers cut the deck free from its staircases before it was lifted clear of the rail corridor early Saturday evening and lowered onto a waiting truck.

The remaining staircases were subsequently dismantled, with the entire structure now cleared from the site.

For generations, the footbridge carried passengers between Junee Railway Station’s main platform and the now-unused island platform.

It had remained standing long after falling out of regular use as passenger rail services through Junee were scaled back.

Its removal had been scheduled during an earlier rail possession but did not proceed at the time.

WORK CONTINUES

The rail corridor was the busiest it has been since major Inland Rail construction began, with at least half a dozen cranes on site in Junee on Saturday.

The scale of activity attracted onlookers throughout the weekend as work progressed simultaneously at the Kemp Street bridge, Junee Railway Station and the Olympic Highway underpass.

Track work has also continued north of the central level crossing and along the corridor towards Illabo.