UPDATE, Friday
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HORSHAM’S new Anzac Centenary Footbridge over the Wimmera River will suffer yet another delay after its contractor was placed in administration.
A Horsham Rural City Council statement said its staff members have been liaising with the administrator in recent days, and works were continuing at contractor J&R Industries’ Wangaratta site on the final components for the bridge.
The works were expected to be completed today and the components transported to Horsham following galvanising in Melbourne next week.
Horsham council chief executive Peter Brown said the council had been aware of this possibility for some time.
“We have been working closely with J&R Industries and local contractors to ensure the bridge can get to a point where it can be completed locally,” he said.
“We are disappointed for J&R Industries, but remain confident in the quality of their workmanship and hope they can work through this difficult period and continue to operate.
EARLIER, Thursday
HORSHAM’S new Anzac Centenary Footbridge over the Wimmera River will suffer yet another delay after its contractor was placed in administration.
The $1.2 million pedestrian bridge was designed to connect Apex Island with the river bank along Major Mitchell Drive.
As part of the project, a $760,000 contract was awarded to Wangaratta firm J&R industries to prefabricate major bridge components.
On May 16, administrators Barry Wight & Sam Kaso were appointed to J&R Industries and its body corporate Foley and Bear Pty Ltd, ASIC records show.
Horsham Rural City Council technical services director John Martin said he believed the added construction time would be short.
“Fortunately, it will have a reasonably small effect. We have been speaking with the contractor and the administrator over the past few days and there are a only a couple of components remaining,” he said.
“They hope to complete the fabrication by Friday and we are transporting those remaining product to Horsham.
“Fortunately the most complex parts of the process, the installation of the towers, cables and deck frames, has been completed.”
Mr Martin said Horsham council had plans to complete the project itself and was in the process of finding workers with the appropriate certification to carry out bridge assembly while suspended over the river.
Administrators will hold a first meeting of creditors at Cor Cordis Chartered Accountants in Melbourne on Friday morning.
Mr Martin said Horsham council was aware of two Wimmera region subcontractors who were still yet to be paid in full by J&R Industries.
Workers began installing the bridge’s framework earlier this month.
Two cable suspension towers were installed last month.
The project has been delayed numerous times since the official sod turning in November 2015.