Wait continues for naming of Australia's longest bridge

THE long-running Kempsey Pacific Hwy upgrade bypass bridge-naming saga has, at least, one more chapter, with the Roads and Maritime Services Department (RMS) postponing the announcement of the bridge name until 2014

THE long-running Kempsey Pacific Hwy upgrade bypass bridge-naming saga has, at least, one more chapter, with the Roads and Maritime Services Department (RMS) postponing the announcement of the bridge name until 2014.

A spokesperson for the RMS said more consultation was needed.

“The Roads and Maritime Services department has postponed naming the Kempsey bypass bridge over the Macleay floodplain to further consider additional community feedback with a decision expected to be announced shortly,” they said.

The 3.2km bridge, which opened in March, forms part of the Kempsey bypass. It spans the Frogmore floodplain and the Macleay River and is Australia’s longest road bridge.

The 14.5km Pacific Hwy bypass, funded by the former Labor government, opened in March 2013 at a cost of $618 million.

The RMS originally called for public submissions on a suggested name for the bridge with the closing date for submissions in June.

The RMS said at the time that if there was no clear consensus winner among the names then the bridge would automatically be called the Macleay River Bridge.

It was then announced the RMS had instead chosen the name ‘Kempsey Bridge’ for the bypass bridge to “avoid confusion with other local bridges.”

Public outcry over the reasoning behind this decision, the existing Kempsey Traffic Bridge has also long been known as simply the Kempsey Bridge, caused another delay in the process with a decision again postponed.

The one year anniversary of the opening of the bridge and the Kempsey Pacific Highway bypass will be on March 27, 2014.