Working with emergency services

Council is engaging directly with all emergency services ahead of the Gipps Street Bridge closure, and the safety of the Port Fairy community remains our priority.

A meeting was held recently with locally based emergency services - Victoria Police, CFA, SES, Ambulance Victoria, Fire Rescue Victoria, Marine Rescue and Moyne Health - following a briefing to the Regional Municipal Emergency Management Committee as part of bridge works planning.

Discussions covered the bridge closure's impacts on services, options to manage those impacts including detours and travel times, project liaison and communication, and ongoing support and cooperation. Emergency management will be a key part of the Bridge Closure Plan, now in development and to be released publicly in coming weeks.

It is acknowledged that the works will impact response times, and that is exactly why these discussions have begun early. The proposed closure is a significant change for the community, and Council is working with emergency services on the response and mitigation measures needed to give the community confidence that access, traffic and emergency management impacts have been carefully considered and planned for.

The river crossing is expected to be closed for up to six months during construction, with residents and emergency services detouring via the Princes Highway and Woodbine Road to Griffiths Street. We understand this is inconvenient, but a full closure is unavoidable for a project of this scale. In successfully securing vital Federal Government funding support Council can now proceed with replacing the Gipps St bridge in a well-controlled and planned manner. Further traffic arrangements will be provided as part of the project's Traffic Management Plan.