Updated 8 November 2022

• The design options for the rectification of Little Sandy Bridge are ongoing. Due to the number of recent floods and significant changes to the riverbank there will be additional river survey and flood modelling required. 

Updated 14 October 2022

• The embankments and pathways adjacent to Little Sandy Bridge have been damaged further as a result of the most recent flooding 8 October 2022
• Development of concept design options are responding to this further damage and are ongoing.

Updated 5 September 2022

• Concept design options are still in progress and are expected to be completed by mid-September 2022.
• Survey works and design consultants have been engaged and works are in progress.

Updated 10 August 2022

• Survey works have been engaged and are in progress.
• Design consultants have been engaged.
• Concept design options are in progress and expected to be completed by mid September 2022. 

Updated 3 November 2023

• Council has confirmed the preferred rectification option.

• Quotations are being sought from specialist design consultants to undertake the detailed design.

• Design is scheduled to commence in December.

• Once design proposals are received and a contract is awarded the scheduled commencement date for construction will be confirmed.

Updated 18 September 2023

• A peer review of the concept design options for rectification of the damage to Little Sandy Bridge has been completed. Concept designs will now be completed and presented to Council in October for approval to proceed with the preferred option;  

• Following adoption of the preferred option, Council will proceed to engage a consultant for detail design. Updates will be provided regarding timeframes expected to complete the detail design and issue a tender for construction.

Updated 13 June 2023

• Council has completed concept design options for the rectification of the damage to Little Sandy Bridge. A peer review of the options is being undertaken before detail design commences. Further updates on timing will be provided once detailed design commences. 

Updated 21 March 2023

• Additional survey works and flood modelling, required due to the significant changes to the river banks have been completed. This information has been used to inform a review of  and modification to the concept design options.

  Final design options and cost estimates are now completed and are being considered by Council.

  Once a preferred concept is agreed, consultants will be contracted to undertake the detailed design.

  Further updates on timing will be provided once detailed design commences.

Updated December 2024

• Procurement of the detailed design contract was undertaken between November 2023 and January 2024.
• Following award of this contract, detailed design commenced in February and is scheduled to be completed by September 2024
• Council anticipates inviting a request for tender for construction in January 2025.
• A report to recommend award of the construction contract is scheduled for April 2025.
• Construction work is scheduled to commence in May 2025.
• A completion date will be confirmed once a construction contract is awarded.

Updated June 2025

• Demolition of damaged section of bridge at the eastern (Elderslie) end commenced.
• Setout for piles
• Building of access ramp to the existing bridge continued. 

Updated May 2025

• Works commenced this month on the rectification works. 

Updated April 2025

• At the April Council Meeting, Council accepted a tender for the rectification works to Little Sandy Bridge.
• Works are expected to commence in May and be completed by the end of 2025, weather permitting.

Updated February 2025

• Council is currently advertising the tender for the construction, repair and stabilisation works for Little Sandy Bridge. 
• Tenders close on Wednesday 5 March 2025.
• A completion date will be confirmed once a construction contract is awarded.

Little Sandy Bridge is a pedestrian bridge located over the Nepean River linking Camden and Elderslie via the Nepean Cycleway at Chellaston Street and River Road Reserve.

The bridge was temporarily closed in March 2022 due to the abutment (the substructure at the end of the bridge that joins the bridge to land) being undermined as well as damage to the pathway approaching the bridge.

More recent floods in March and June 2024 resulted in further damage to the eastern (Elderslie) side of the bridge, washing away the bridge approach, pathway and large sections of the riverbank and vegetation.

The flooding events resulted in significant damage to the riverbank, impacting access to the bridge including: 

• There has been a loss of approximately 24m of land between the eastern (Elderslie) end of the existing bridge and to where the riverbank exists today.
• The riverbank has been cut at the edge up to 7 metres above the level of the bridge deck.
• Trees have been washed away and several large trees along the riverbank have also been severely impacted. These trees will require removal due to safety concerns. 

The area of rectification work required is approximately 2,750m2 and will require approximately 8,500 tonne of rock fill and rock scour protection to be installed.

Little Sandy Bridge - February 2022

Little Sandy Bridge - August 2022

Little Sandy Bridge - June 2024

The following works will be undertaken prior to reopening Little Sandy Bridge:

• Extensive earthworks and filling of the scoured (eroded) areas to provide access and enable construction at the eastern (Elderslie) side of the bridge;
• Extension of the deck on the eastern side of the bridge;
• Scour (erosion) protection on both sides of the river but mostly the eastern side;
• Reconstruction and realignment of the pathway on the eastern side; and
• Landscaping of an area of approximately 6,000m2 with trees, shrubs and groundcovers to regenerate the native vegetation impacted by the floods and construction works.

Council has been working extensively with industry experts to help ensure the rectification works will withstand future flooding events.

While no works can be guaranteed not to be impacted by flooding events to some degree, we are confident the surveying and modelling works, as well as undertaking a peer review of the concept design, will provide the best rectification option available. 

Following the construction of the pre-cast concrete bridge in April 2014, Little Sandy Bridge has been subjected to many flooding events.

Whilst the bridge itself has withstood the floods, the bridge approach on the eastern (Elderslie side) has suffered considerable damage.

If Council were able to undertake rectification works following the first flooding event, it is likely Council would still be undertaking works to a similar scale. 

The quantity and speed of flood waters the Nepean River experienced in the floods in March and June 2024 caused significant damage. With the flooding events so close together, the riverbank wasn’t able to recover or naturally restabilise between each flood resulting in significant erosion.  

Rectification works recently commenced and are expected to be completed by the end of 2025, weather permitting. 

The $3.7 million project rectification works are partially funded by the Australian and the Department of Regional NSW.

Due to undermining by flood waters, some very large trees are required to be removed due to safety concerns. An ecologist has assessed the trees throughout the project site for fauna habitat and will supervise the tree removal.

These trees will be repurposed where possible with logs being utilised downstream of the bridge to create structures to reduce scouring (erosion) and provide habitat at the river edge.

The trees to be removed have been identified as a mix of native species. No trees being removed are Camden White Gums. 

As part of the project, the riverbanks will be revegetated with approximately 80 native trees and extensive planting of shrubs, grasses and groundcovers.

It’s hard to know when floods will happen. Previously we’ve experienced flooding events in March, April, May and July. Now we have the funding secured and the design confirmed, we want to deliver the project to the community.

The existing bridge structure is not damaged however the eastern (Elderslie side) bank was severely scoured (eroded) by 4 concurrent floods. The bridge structure will now be extended by 15m to allow the river to be wider in this section. 

Council investigated the option of constructing a new bridge above the flood level however this would have resulted in the bridge being over 15m higher than it is now. This was not economically feasible nor feasible due to the natural landscape given the area surrounding Little Sandy Bridge is a very wide flood plain.

As part of the project, layers of large rock will be installed well below the water level into the riverbed and up the banks. This will help stabilise and protect the riverbank from erosion during storm and flooding events.

We have worked extensively with industry experts to help ensure the rectification works being delivered will withstand future flooding events. While no works can be guaranteed not to be impacted by flooding events to some degree, we are confident the surveying and modelling works, as well as undertaking a peer review of the concept design, provide the best rectification option available.