Susanna Freymark
It was all about the bridges, built 1.2m higher — and the historic scissors that cut the ribbon at the official opening of two bridges at Tatham today, Tuesday, April 7.
The twin bridges cross over Shannon Brookand Spring Creek at Tatham and were damaged in the 2002 floods.
It took 18 months to construct the new ones that sit halfway between Casino and Coraki. The project had $18million funding from the National Emergency Management Agency.
The scissors State MP Janelle Saffin used to cut the red ribbon and officially open the bridges were the same scissors used to open the bridge in 1933 and again in 1997.
Dorothy Sullivan, Janelle Stenner and Kevin Sullivan were at the opening and it was Dorothy who brought the scissors along.
Her husband Col Sullivan was shire president and he used the scissors to open the Tatham bridges in 1997. Col died in 2018.
And it was Col’s grandfather William Sullivan who used the same scissors to cut the ribbon for the wooden bridge built in 1933.
Janelle is Col’s daughter and along with her mother Dorothy and Kevin (Col’s brother) she was at the ribbon cutting of this new bridge designed to be more resilient to flooding.
Richmond Valley mayor Robert Mustow said the company Quickway did an outstanding job.
State MP Richie Williamson said the bridges were an amazing piece of local infrastructure.
Ms Saffin said Richmond Valley Council put forward the bridges project soon after the floods.
Richmond Valley Council managed the construction project under the $150 million Northern Rivers Recovery and Resilience Program run by the NSW Reconstruction Authority.
It is one of 36 NRRRP projects across the region. So far, 22 projects have been completed, including the Dairy Flat drainage improvements and the Thearles Canal culvert installation, as well as Coraki and Woodburn town drains, and projects in Lismore.
Ms Saffin said freight, tourism and the local sugar cane and livestock industries were set to benefit from the bridges upgrade. 
“B-double trucks and other heavy vehicles rely on the bridges as part of a critical connection between the Summerland Way and Pacific Highway, and transport links to Southeast Queensland, especially in the aftermath of disasters,” she said.
Mr Mustow said it was great to see the bridges open.
“These bridges are a vital link between Casino and the Mid Richmond communities and the Pacific Motorway, keeping freight and families moving,” he said.
“Importantly, when the next flood comes, restoring access will be much quicker, which will be a real help to those affected areas.”