Indigenous business a key part of new bridge build

By PETER ROWE 

Thirty Aboriginal-owned businesses have benefited in the new Brooking Channel Bridge in Western Australia’s Kimberley Region.

The project has seen 25 Kimberley-based and 20 are Fitzroy Valley-based with the bridge set to open on November 13.

The $107 million project, jointly funded by the Australian and Western Australian Governments, has seen the replacement of an ageing single-lane bridge with a much stronger dual-lane structure.

The project is the first to be delivered under the Western Australian Government’s Kimberley Resilience Program.

The project strengthens the resilience of Great Northern Highway, which was critically damaged in the flooding that followed Ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie in late 2022 and early 2023.

While the Brooking Channel Bridge was not destroyed by the flooding event, it remained a 100-metre single-lane bottleneck with limited survival capacity in future major flood events.

Located just outside the town of Fitzroy Crossing, the project has offered a unique opportunity to provide ongoing employment, traineeships and skills development for many local workers employed on the New Fitzroy River Bridge project. It has also continued to support Fitzroy Valley businesses and suppliers.

In just six months, the New Brooking Channel Bridge project has employed or engaged more than 160 local Aboriginal workers, 42 of whom completed a nationally recognised certification.

The traineeships were tailored to meet both the employment needs of the project as well as the in-demand skills in the Kimberley region and beyond.

“The New Brooking Channel Bridge is an important addition to Great Northern Highway building a more resilient supply chain in the northwest of Western Australia,” Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King said.

State Member for Kimberley Divina D’Anna said the flood events of late 2022 and early 2023 were absolutely devastating, but out of that devastation has been an incredible pipeline of employment and training opportunities for people in the Fitzroy Valley.

“This project has not only delivered a significant improvement in the resilience of the Great Northern Highway, but it’s also ensured we continue to capitalise on the benefits delivered on the New Fitzroy River Bridge,” she said.