Narrandera Shire Council has accepted a tender from The Trustee for Central Industries Trust and awarded them the contract for the design and construction of the Larmer Street Pedestrian Bridge at last week’s June meeting.

The tender is valued at $745,200 excluding GST to deliver a 2.5-metre-wide bridge across the main canal on Larmer Street.

The project is part of the Active Transport Plan 2023, which identified the Larmer Street corridor as a high-priority route for future network expansion.

Funding valued at $1,108,000, under the Road Safety Programme (RSP) was secured through Transport for NSW (TfNSW) in December 2025, which included a 10 per cent council contribution.

Works will include the installation of footpath from Adams Street to the canal, a pedestrian bridge across the canal and a shared path along Larmer Street from the canal to Townsend Street.

While council staff are carrying out the footpath and shared path components, the bridge itself is being delivered by a contractor.

The tender assessment panel initially applied an upper value limit to the submissions to remove all submissions over the forecast budget limit, which resulted in five being removed.

Then, all submissions that failed to show delivery of the project within the allocated time were removed.

The panel also considered the potential risks associated with the height of an arched bridge structure and the environmental issues and approvals required for working within the main canal waterway.

However, it decided not to proceed with any arched design due to the potential increased risk to the council that could occur from individuals jumping off the structure into the canal.

Councillor Bob Manning believes the council made the correct decision to whittle down the choice and accept the tender by The Trustee for Central Industries Trust.

“The best selection has been made,” he said.

“It’s really needed in that part of town. It will ease the situation of pedestrian versus car.”

Council ultimately selected The Trustee for Central Industries Trust’s single-span truss design, citing the quality of the submission.

Its assessment concluded the tender represented the best overall value for money, combining a submission within budget, a proven track record in similar projects and a tailored construction methodology with a detailed delivery schedule.