The current two-lane bridge along the Sturt Highway has caused concerns for years, with residents fearing accidents as vehicles turn off into neighbouring driveways and bottle-necking as the population grows.

The $9.5 million upgrade, which will see the bridge expanded to four lanes, was welcomed by professional shuttle bus driver Peter Rex, who has been a long-term advocate for the change.

"The forecast of a 100,000 population for Wagga, the growing outer suburbs and all the building traffic means the roads have to be able to keep up with those changes, so I think the RMS needs to be congratulated for addressing this long-term problem," he said.

"Especially now with the new service station there too, the caravan park and Riverina Water, all these different needs for people to turn off will now be safer once the upgrade is complete."

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Wagga's BIG4 Holiday Park is one business whose entrance comes directly after the current two-lane bridge. Owner Martin Cotterell said while his business hadn't suffered from the current state of the road, the upgrade would benefit everyone.

"This is great news, and an upgrade dearly needed by all businesses along that stretch and all road users," he said.

Mr Cotterell said he hoped the design would consider more than just those behind the wheel.

"The biggest issue is the safety of pedestrians," he said.

"I've seen people walking on the road given there is only a pedestrian path on one side of the bridge, so I hope they incorporate that into the designs."

The tender for detailed design was awarded to SMEC Holdings, which will immediately begin drawing up detailed plans for the upgrade.

Wagga mayor Greg Conkey said it was a "small step, but certainly one in the right direction".

"I've been advocating for this since I became mayor because it is a really dangerous bridge," he said.

"It sits on a major highway, and I've heard anecdotally from Riverina Water that they regularly hear screeching of brakes with people not expecting the turn off so soon."

Councillor Conkey said he had hopes that the "long overdue" upgrade would improve safety and congestion in the area as the region continues to grow.

"The new service station has only just gone in, it's becoming extremely popular, so it's about time this black spot is fixed," he said.

However, those developing the design would need to work closely with council, according to Cr Conkey, who said the flood levee needed to be considered.

"That bridge is part of our levee, which comes up on either side," he said.

"If there is a big flood forecast, we drop gates into that area from the bridge to complete the levee, so this new design will have to factor in new gates as well.

"I do look forward to the announcement of tender to a builder, which I can only hope comes in the near future."

Wagga MLC Wes Fang said the next steps will involve progressing the detailed design of the bridge followed by environmental investigations.

"We will continue to keep the Wagga community and stakeholders informed on this exciting project with work expected to start later this year and take about 14 months to complete," Mr Fang said.

Tenders were called at the end of last year for the detailed design, and a separate contract will be awarded later this year to build the bridge and existing bridge demolition. Separate early work contracts for utility relocation are expected in the coming weeks.

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