The multi-million dollar two lane bridge and associated roadworks, which have been under construction since November 2020, was officially opened to traffic today by Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson and Tamworth Region Mayor Col Murray.

The Namoi River Crossing in Manilla now replaces the 135 year old Manilla Bridge as the primary river crossing for the Fossickers Way (MR63) route. Recent construction works have included connecting roadworks between the intersection with Market Street to the south of the bridge, and the intersection with Barraba Street via Rowan Street to the north of the bridge, creating a new route for Fossickers Way approximately 380 metres upstream of the Manilla Bridge.

The Namoi River Crossing will improve the road connectivity for freight from the north of Manilla to Tamworth and allow future economic growth north of Manilla. The new bridge, which is 140 metres long and is 10 metres high, sits above the 1-in-100 year flood level and provides a solution for a number of safety and usage issues for heavy vehicles travelling along the route.

Heavy vehicles will no longer need to detour via the Higgins Avenue Crossing, as the Namoi River Crossing is free from load limitations and allows for vehicles with a width of 4 metres in each direction. The bridge is expected to carry 120,987 vehicles and 985,166 tonnes of freight annually. This will save 47,975 km and over 6,800 hours of travel per annum. The Manilla Bridge will remain operational for use by local traffic.

Development of the Namoi River Crossing has been funded by the NSW Government under its Restart NSW Growing Local Economies Fund in association with the Tamworth Regional Council, contributing $7,896,500 and $877,392 to the project respectively. An additional $1,000,000 has been provided by Transport for NSW.