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1925
26 November 1925
TONG BONG CROSSING.
Though Mr. Lawson, the shire engineer, had made every effort to have the new culvert over Tong Bong Creek completed in time for the race meeting on Saturday fate was against him. The flood waters caused by the terrific fall of rain last week over the watershed which feeds the creek came along and washed the approaches clean away before it had a chance of being completed. The job itself is a substantial one but in the opinion of old residents another pipe on each side would have eliminated danger of a washaway by heavy flood1 .
1926
25 Mar 1926
T0NG BONG CREEK
The approaches to Tong Bong Creek near Rylstone. recently constructed at a cost of £600 has been washed away. The damage estimated at 700 pounds. All traffic has been held up and a temporary crossing will be made as soon as possible2 .
1 April 1926
A TRAGEDY
TONG BONG. CREEK CROSSING
Tong Bong Creek, ever since local government came into operation, has been a constant source of worry to the Rylstone Shire, by reason of regular requests for a crossing. The creek, as every one acquainted with its source knows, is a very dangerous stream in flood time, the force of the current making it absolutely unfordable, and though instances are on record of it being crossed by reckless men. it is regarded by the district as impassible when in flood. The subject of providing a crossing over Tong Bong Creek came up for discussion when Mr, J. R. Fletcher presided over the council. The council engineer then was Mr Hope, who was one of the best engineers the shire ever had, and is now engineer to tbe Moree Shire council, Mr. Hogfe Was asked to report on the possibility of providing (a suitable crossing and he went exhaustively into, the matter. His report, which should be available to anyone desirous of seeing it in the Shire office, positively condemned any other method of lifting- traffic over the stream than by a one span bridge, Mr Hope had no knowledge of the fierce nature of the current that flowed along the creek after storms. He simply reported from an engineering standpoint that it was quite impracticable to do anything else than bridge the creek. As the council would not finance the matter, there it stopped and for years between storm periods the travelling public have been able to cross the creek with out any seroius inoonvience. The late council, in an endeavour to improve matters called for a report on the possibility of crossing the creek by other, means than a. bridge, and plans of a low level pipe were put in with suitable approaches on either side, and this was agreed to at an estimated cost of from four to five hundred pounds. No consideration was paid to Mr. Hope's report despite the fact that he was a senior engineer, and possessed every certificate, that an engineer could hold. The council went blindly into tlie matter, and built what was virtually, in such a stream, a dam aoross the creek, when any old settler could have told them that the first rush of water would wash it out of position. As it was nearly half of it was washed away by a storm before it was completed and it cost eighty pounds to replace. Now the - second storm,. I admit, has completed the dam leaving the pipes lying bare in tbe centre, a mournful monument to remind ratepavers of the loss of £580, and the crossing is worse than it has ever been. It is easy to be wise after any event, but when men take up the responsibility of shire trust they should be guided by mature opinion in respect to any Iarge expenditure of public funds. The tragedy of Tong Bong would appear to have been brought about by a want of knowledge of the great force that gathers in storm time along the creek and the apparent disregard of expert advice on the matter3 .
17 May 1926
TONG BONG CREEK.
THE CROSSING CONTROVERSY.
The council is having considerable anxiety in deciding the correct method of lifting the traffic over this waterway. All that is left of an expenditure of five hundred pounds is three large pipes and their covering. A proposal to span either side of the bridge with a suitable area of getaway, was thought to be the only means whereby any of the money expended in the structure that was washed away might be saved, but there seems to be a doubt from an engineering point of view as to how much strain has been placed on the pipes, and whether they would stand up to another heavy weight in the shape of flood waters. The Main Roads Board contends that the only safe way out of the loss is to erect a bridge that will for all time do away with the trouble, and to this end have agreed to finance the Shire on a £ for £ basis. The council has stayed its hand, pending a survey, and estimate of the cost of a bridge that will meet the requirements of the public, and, if acceptable, the bridge will take the place of the plan approved of by the council at its last meeting, viz. to span the gap at either side of the pipes now standing, leaving ample waterway to carry any flow that is likely to come down the creek. The only doubt about this proposition is the stability of the pipes, and the wall in the creek, and a survey may yet prove these to be capable of meeting the situation.4 .
20 May 1926
TONG BONG
NOTORIOUS NAME
The name is becoming quite notorious. With the washing away of the late council's ideas, the new council is faced with a -problem as to whether it will complete the wreck by blowing the whole concern down the creek, and replacing it with a bridge, or effect a save by attaching to get-aways, one on either side of the pipes that are now in the creek crossing. It is recognised that no time can be lost in coming to a decision, as to the form the reconstruction will take, as the heavy traffic from Bylong in the busy season just about doubles the normal load, so that whilst a temporary crossing may meet the demand it is desirable, if possible, to havc the bridge completed fqr the wool season5 .
27 May 1926
HIGH LEVELS
TONG BONG WATERSHED
A surveyor from the Main Roads has been busy during the week surveying the watershed of Tong Bong Creek. The survey reveals the fact that TongBong Mt. is 1,015 feet above the Rylstone level, which is something over 2,000 above sea level. The force which gathers when the waters meet in the creek can be readily understood and provides an all sutficient answer why the cement wall and pipes would not take the flow6 .
1927
TONG BONG CROSSING
PLANS FOR CAUSEWAY
Plans have been drawn up for a causeway at Tong Bong crossing. The Main Road Board's Inspecting Engineer favors a causeway in preference to a bridge. The estimated cost of the causeway is £20O7 .
14 July 1927
Tong Bong Crossing
CONCRETE CAUSEWAY COMPLETED.
The new concrete causeway at the Tong Bong crossing was completed arid opened to traffic during the week. It is believed that the crossing will now cease to give the trouble to traffic which has been so pronounced in flood time for very many years8 .
2003
30 Oct 2003
New Havilah bridge
New high level bridges at Havilah and Tongbong on the road to Kandos Rylstone are good examples of resource sharing between two councils.
Both bridges are open to traffic, improving access to between Mudgee and Rylstone during times of flooding.
Acting Director for Technical Services at Rylstone Shire Council, Siva Sivarasa, said the two councils used the same piling contractor.
"Using the same piling contractor on the two jobs and planning the jobs together made it easier to engage a contractor," Mr Sivarasa said.
"In addition it delivered cost savings on the two bridges to both councils."
The Tongbong bridge has been completed and the approaches sealed. Mr Sivarasa said cost $380,000 and took three months to complete.
The Havilah bridge was built as part of Mudgee Shire Council's Rural Roads Network Strategy programmed works and all that remains to be done is for the approaches to be sealed, which a council spokesperson said was scheduled for November this year.
The bridge design is unique and it is the first bridge in the shire that has been designed with both cross fall and slope along the road.
The M-Lock bridge construction system was used to build a bridge in Mudgee Shire on the Havilah project.
This system comes pre-cast, allowing the council's own labour to take over construction after the piling contractor has completed his job.
The piling contractor drilled rock sockets for the pre-cast piles as opposed to driving piles into the ground.
"The M-Lock bridge fits together like a meccano set," Mudgee Shire Council Operations Manager Robert Manca said.
"It took three weeks from the time we had the piles standing until the decking was ready for traffic, whereas a conventional bridge would have taken three months."
Now that the bridge is finished Lue Road, which is usually cut at this bridge three or four times a year, will have improved access during extreme wet weather.
The bridge will have an impact on approximately 500 residents of Mudgee Shire, most residents of Kandos and Rylstone and the many tourists that travel between the centres.
"There are still some points on the Lue Road that may be cut but this was the worst one," Cr Yeo said.
"We're continuing to work on providing better access across the shire as part of a program of works directed by the Rural Roads Network Strategy that was released in March this year.
"Mudgee Council's operations staff wrote to the Rural Roads Network Strategy to help identify and address in the long term these type of access issues and this is a good example of how to manage the assets in the shire and offer better access for residents."