Engineering Award for Anzac Centenary Bridge

Published on 16 May 2018

The team behind construction of Horsham’s Anzac Centenary Pedestrian Bridge has been recognised with an award from the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia’s (IPWEA) engineering excellence awards.

The award was in the category for Victorian projects valued at up to $2 million.

In presenting the award, IPWEA noted that initially the contractor for the Anzac Centenary Bridge had gone into receivership, and there was a significant risk that the project would not be completed.

However, the bridge was successfully completed by a team led by Horsham Rural City Council’s engineering and operations departments, with assistance from many Wimmera contractors.

HRCC Director of Technical Services John Martin said it was deserved recognition for Council’s engineering team.

“Jess Leslie and Josh Hammond from our engineering team, and Michael Mackley and David Puls from our operations team were committed to this project from start to finish,” Mr Martin said.

“Those staff were directly involved in hands-on work on the bridge, and coordinating the input from local contractors and design consultants.”

Wimmera River Improvement Committee President Gary Aitken was also present at the presentation and was delighted with award.

“Our Committee had been encouraging Council to build this bridge for many years,” Mr Aitken said.

“It is fantastic to finally have this connection between the two sides of the river. Not only is it an outstanding looking structure, but it is also being very well used, and is therefore very deserving of this award.”

Mr Aitken said that the new bridge caters well for cyclists, walkers and joggers.

“It is great to see people using this part of the river at a much higher level. It also provides a great link for school children accessing schools in the western half of Horsham,” he said.