A 400-tonne crane will remove the northbound bridge on Bangalow Road next week as part of the $862 million Tintenbar to Ewingsdale section of the Pacific Highway upgrade.
During the closure traffic will access Bangalow, Byron Bay and the Pacific Highway via the Ewingsdale interchange.
The bridge will be removed during the evening of Thursday, 27 August.
Page MP Kevin Hogan said the removal of the bridge would improve access to the Pacific Highway.
He said work was well underway on a noise mound that would reduce the noise impact of the reconfigured highway on the surrounding community.
‘The southbound bridge was removed in September 2013 by cutting the structure into pieces, which were then removed by a crane,’ he said.
‘The same technique will be used with this project to minimise impact.’
The removal of the bridge is part of the Tintenbar to Ewingsdale upgrade, which involves the construction of 17 kilometres of four-lane divided highway.
The upgrade will link the Ballina bypass to the existing dual carriageway at Ewingsdale.
Deputy prime minister Warren Truss said the start of the final stages of the Tintenbar to Ewingsdale upgrade were an important step towards the completion of the Pacific Highway upgrade.
‘The Australian Government is investing $5.64 billion towards completing the Pacific Highway upgrade by the end of the decade, a key piece of infrastructure in the national road network and the largest single investment in a road in New South Wales,’ Mr Truss said.
Roads minister Duncan Gay said the Tintenbar to Ewingsdale upgrade would be open to traffic before the end of the year.
‘This is great news for the thousands of motorists who travel north for the summer break – the opening will improve travel times and safety for all road users,’ Mr Gay said.
‘Work started on this section in 2012 and in around three years it has been completed which just shows how hard we’re working to get the upgrade opened as soon as possible.
‘This upgrade not only benefits motorists, it has and will continue to provide a strong boost for the region with 1,200 direct and 3,800 indirect jobs being supported over the life of this project.’
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
