Local

Questions mount as Kemp Street bridge timeline blows out

Published

1 day ago

September 2, 2026

THE wait for Junee’s new Kemp Street bridge has blown out from 18 months to two years, despite repeated assurances from Inland Rail that the project remains on schedule.

When the key east-west crossing was closed and demolished in September 2025, the community was told it would remain out of action for approximately 18 months while a new overpass was built.

That timeframe pointed to the bridge reopening around March or April 2027.

However, when the Junee Bulletin sought confirmation of the completion date in July, Inland Rail said the bridge was scheduled to be finished by August 2027, about five months beyond the timeframe initially given to the community.

Despite being asked to explain the apparent extension, Inland Rail did not address the discrepancy.

“The bridge is on schedule for completion by August 2027,” a representative said.

But just two weeks later, attendees at an Inland Rail Community Consultative Committee meeting in Wagga were given an even later date.

Junee councillor Pam Halliburton attended the meeting on August 5 and reported that the “Kemp Street Bridge will be completed September 2027”.

Her delegates report was tabled at Junee Shire Council’s ordinary meeting on August 18.

The September 2027 date would leave Junee without its key crossing for at least two full years, six months longer than the approximately 18-month closure originally communicated to the community.

It also represents another month added to the August 2027 completion date recorded by Cr Halliburton following the committee’s previous meeting on May 20 and repeated by Inland Rail to the Bulletin in late July.

20 August 2026 | © The Junee Bulletin

Despite the steadily shifting dates, Inland Rail has maintained that the overall construction schedule has not been delayed.

In July, Inland Rail acknowledged that groundwater encountered during piling works had slowed progress, but insisted the disruption had caused only minor delays and would not affect the project’s completion.

“Groundwater presented challenges during the piling works which impacted productivity,” a representative told the Junee Bulletin.

“While this resulted in some minor delays to piling activities, it has not affected the overall construction program and schedule.”

That position is now attracting increased scrutiny from residents who have already endured almost 12 months of detours and disruption, with no explanation provided for why the expected closure has grown from 18 months to 24.

July 2026 | © The Junee Bulletin

Concerns have only intensified following the abrupt suspension of concrete girder installation last month.

A 700-tonne crane arrived in Junee on Thursday, August 20, ahead of an operation to install 16 enormous concrete girders across the bridge.

The first 45-tonne span was lifted over Edgar Street the following morning, but the operation was halted before any further girders could be installed.

Inland Rail later confirmed the lifts had been paused while its contractor reassessed the method being used to move the spans into place.

21 August 2026 | © The Junee Bulletin

The Junee Bulletin understands the crane slewed into a designated danger zone over the active rail corridor during the first lift, resulting in a safety breach.

Inland Rail has not publicly confirmed those details, saying only that the lifting method was undergoing a safety reassessment.

The original method had been designed to avoid removing a nearby tree, with Inland Rail saying work would resume only when it was satisfied the operation could proceed safely.

No timeframe was provided.

23 August 2026 | © The Junee Bulletin

The site has remained largely inactive since the shutdown on Friday, August 21.

After sitting retracted and unused at the site for 12 days, the giant crane was finally dismantled on Wednesday, September 2, before leaving Junee.

It is understood the crane is being transported to Sydney.

All 16 girders were expected to be installed before Inland Rail’s next major rail possession, which begins on September 12 and will close the corridor to trains for 96 hours.

As it stands, only one of them has been installed.

A second remains on the ground in Edgar Street after being unloaded on the day of the aborted operation, while a third span delivered to Junee was taken away the following afternoon.

21 August 2026 | © The Junee Bulletin

There has been no public indication of when the remaining girders will arrive, what changes are being made to the lifting operation or when major construction activity will resume.

It is also unclear whether the stalled girder installation will push the bridge’s completion beyond the September 2027 date reported to council.

The Bulletin previously put a detailed series of questions to Inland Rail about what prompted the safety reassessment, the condition and positioning of the first girder, the suspension of further deliveries and the potential effect on the wider construction schedule.

Most went unanswered.

Less than 24 hours after Inland Rail provided its limited response, the organisation’s media lead who had handled the Bulletin’s inquiries throughout the project advised that it was her final week with Inland Rail, and directed all future media inquiries to the Australian Rail Track Corporation.

The abrupt change comes amid a major restructure of the wider Inland Rail program after the Federal Government abandoned funding for the line north of Parkes.

The decision followed an independent assessment that found completing the original Melbourne-to-Brisbane route could cost more than $45 billion and could not be achieved before 2036.

While those wider developments do not establish the cause of the Kemp Street bridge setbacks or staffing change, they add to mounting questions about the delivery and oversight of one of Australia’s largest infrastructure programs.

Detailed design showing what the new Kemp Street bridge will look like once complete in 2027 | Source: Inland Rail

For Junee residents, however, the immediate questions are much closer to home.

Why has the expected bridge closure grown from 18 months to two years?

Why did Inland Rail refuse to explain the extension when directly questioned?

Why was the community told August 2027 while a committee meeting was advised of a September completion just two weeks later?

And after the girder operation was suspended and its 700-tonne crane removed, is even that latest date still achievable?

After almost a year without one of Junee’s most important road links, the community deserves more than assurances that the project remains “on schedule”.

It deserves a clear, detailed and accountable explanation of what that schedule now is, and why it has changed.