THE $10.6 million upgrade of Eunony Bridge has fallen behind schedule following a number of challenges.
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The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were felt in Wagga shortly after main works had started, while stolen equipment at the work site and heavy rainfall have also caused delays.
Wagga City Council's commercial operations director Caroline Angel said the unexpected interruptions, which were beyond the council's control, had pushed the project's schedule back two weeks.
Ms Angel said key staff, including the project manager and site engineer, were also required to quarantine after they came in contact with a positive case of the virus.
"A reduction in flights to and from Wagga in response to COVID-19 hindered specialist crews' capacity to travel to and from the city, both intra and inter-state," she said.
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Early in the works specialised crane equipment was stolen from the construction site, which forced the council to tighten security and block river access near the bridge.
Ms Angel said the theft meant the crane was not operational until the equipment was replaced.
"The theft of the crane equipment slowed progress by a week in the very early stages and that was extremely unfortunate to have to deal with a situation where the actions of those thieves have directly and indirectly affected the whole community," she said.
More recently, Ms Angel said the council had to deal with rainfall that stopped work due to safety issues on the work site.
Despite these challenges, she said "excellent progress" had been made considering the circumstances.
The Eunony Bridge will remain closed to motorists until early August as the upgrade works continue.