VEHICLE access over Winburndale Rivulet has been restored, with a temporary replacement for Howards Bridge now operational on The Bridle Track.
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The bridge will be load limited to 25 tonnes until it has been certified for full T44 (semitrailer - 42.5 tonne) loading by a specialist timber bridge structural engineer.
School buses and rigid trucks were able to cross the bridge from Wednesday.
Work started to replace the bridge with a temporary structure after the original timber deck was washed away in a violent storm on January 11.
The loss of Howards Bridge was just one part of $1.7 million damage bill that had resulted from the storm.
Bathurst Regional Council's general manager David Sherley recently explained that there was a delay in restoring access as council had to consult with multiple government agencies.
Council also had to find the appropriate people to carry out the work.
He said that council was seeking assistance through disaster funding schemes to pay for the installation of a new, permanent bridge.
Councillor Ian North said that, although he would have loved to see access restored earlier, he was pleased with how Mr Sherley and council had worked to get a temporary bridge in place.
He said the alternate route, via Box Ridge Road, was inadequate and installing a new bridge was essential.
"We had to, for [residents'] everyday lives and for safety reasons, as far as the fire brigades go," he said.
He will be closely following the progress of replacing the temporary structure with a permanent bridge and said he plans to bring it up at council's March policy committee meeting.
"We're going to have to design a new and better bridge moving forward that lasts us well into the future," Cr North said.
