A bridge rebuilt after severe weather damage has won a major engineering award.
Noosa Council’s Schreibers Road Bridge Rebuild, delivered in partnership with Northlane Consulting Engineers, took out the Projects $5m to $10m category at the 2026 Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia Queensland and Northern Territory Excellence Awards.
It is the sixth major prize council has received at the awards in recent years.
Council CEO Larry Sengstock said the recognition reflected the work of staff and the project team.
“This award is fantastic recognition of the expertise, dedication and professionalism of our people and our project partners Northlane Consulting Engineers,” Mr Sengstock said.
“The Schreibers Road Bridge Rebuild project and what it delivered for our community is another great example of council’s commitment to rebuilding stronger and more resilient infrastructure…”
The project replaced a damaged culvert crossing with a new single-span bridge and was undertaken in stages to ensure the continued operation of a critical water supply pipeline servicing Noosa and surrounding communities.
In addition to restoring the transport link, the project strengthened the resilience of essential infrastructure, increased waterway capacity and improved the road’s flood immunity.
Northlane Consulting Engineers director Heath Jones said simply rebuilding the old crossing would have been the easier option, but a “shared focus” with Noosa Council on flood resilience meant pursuing a better outcome for Cooran.
“Our in-house engineers led the design of a new bridge and built in two stages so a major water pipeline supplying Noosa and much of South East Queensland could be moved onto it without cutting off anyone’s water supply.
“By managing the project from start to finish, we brought it in 17 per cent under budget and gave Cooran a crossing that stays open in major floods, while better-protecting the region’s water supply.”
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The win continues council’s strong track record at the IPWEA-QNT Excellence Awards.
Previous wins include the Tablelands Road Bridge replacement, Beckmans Road Intersection Upgrade, Noosa Biosphere Trail 5 Upgrade, Doggy Beach sand nourishment project and Black Mountain Road reconstruction.
Council’s disaster reconstruction coordinator Julie Calvert and principal infrastructure planner Melissa Shepherd were also recognised at this year’s awards, as finalists for Emerging Leader of the Year and Team Member of the Year respectively.
