The bridge is built over the Mooki River on Clifton Road and links Carroll and Breeza. It is a main route to access Caroll Cotton Gin.

It was a single lane structure made of wood and concrete but is now a dual-lane concrete bridge, which will support increased traffic from heavy vehicles.

Breeza farmers Andrew Pursehouse and Loral Hamparsum welcomed the major upgrade, saying the bridge was quite “rickety” before the works.

“The bridge was very dangerous,” Mr Pursehouse said.

“This is the main thoroughfare to the Caroll gin. All the local farmers use it.

"The gin is now up to 120,000 bales a year.”

Mrs Hamparsum said locals had wanted an upgrade for some time and it was “fantastic” to see it completed.

“When there’s a flood, Long Point’s cut-off, so everyone has to go via Simson Bridge,” she said.

“It’s the only way we can get across the other side where our properties are.”

Mrs Hamparsum’s son, John, said the upgrade is “a major positive for the area” and was "well overdue”.

“A lot of traffic goes through there and the condition of the old bridge was terrible and I’ve been lobbying for probably 15 or 20 years to get that bridge replaced.

“In particular, I increased the amount of lobbying to get it replaced after Somerton lost its bridge after a truck went over it and it failed. The community was split in two and I could see the same thing would happen if the Simson Bridge failed.

“If the bridge had failed, it was going to cause a lot of problems to farmers in the area. 

David Lyle said it was a “huge improvement for local farmers and local businesses”.

Gunnedah Shire Council mayor Jamie Chaffey said the works came in “on time and under budget” and praised Murray Constructions and council staff involved in the design and construction.

“It’s such an important part of the road network and infrastructure for a very important part of our agricultural sector,” he said. 

The council’s acting director of infrastructure services, Edward Paas, said the upgrade project would enable higher mass loads and reduce travel times.

Related story: Bridge reconstruction on target

“The opening of the new Simson Bridge over the Mooki River at Breeza ticks all the boxes for what road users want in an infrastructure project,” he said. 

“It is a quintuple win for the community in terms of better safety with the widened bridge, improved flood immunity, reduced travel times, improved freight efficiency and increased load limits.”

The project cost came in approximately $610,000 under the original budget of $2.228 million. The Federal Government committed $800,000 under the Bridge Renewal Program and the remainder was funded by the council.

The original timber bridge was built in 1919 but was damaged by a flood in June 1920. The bridge was rebuilt downstream in 1929, and modified again in 1964.  The timber substructure had a concrete deck overlay placed on it in 1985. The council overseer for the current roadworks, Neville Turner, was involved in screening the concrete at that time.