Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester has secured extra funding for the restoration of the historic Snowy River railway trestle bridge as part of a bushfire recovery program.
Mr Chester has welcomed the announcement of $1.05 million from the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants program which will ensure the bridge restoration and connection to existing trails can proceed.
Mr Chester has strongly supported the community campaign to restore the bridge which will benefit local residents and the visitor economy.
“This is exciting news for the community which has advocated for many years to restore the iconic bridge,” Mr Chester said.
“I have secured $1.05 million of funding to restore the bridge, on top of the existing State Government grant, and this will make it suitable for bike riders and pedestrians to use.
“This project will include constructing access paths to the bridge and the installation of historical and cultural interpretive signage.”
Mr Chester said the project was one of over 40 projects funded for the region with major investments throughout East Gippsland.
“Gippsland has received a boost of just over $30 million in new Federal Government funding to help our region continue to recover from the devastating Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20,” Mr Chester said.
“These projects will see essential infrastructure and community groups recover and help improve resilience for future fire events and natural disasters.”
Among other projects to be funded will be a $324,000 upgrade of the Orbost Tennis Club and more than $400,000 for the Mike Baum Skate Park redevelopment in Cann River.
For further information visit: https://recovery.gov.au/programs/black-summer-grants
