THE State Government is expected to spend $12 million building a new rail bridge at Thornton, much of which would probably be recouped later from developer contributions.
On site yesterday, Premier Nathan Rees said his Government had made an "iron-clad guarantee" to build the bridge, which would be two-lanes in each direction and would pave the way for housing development in the Thornton North area.
Detailed bridge designs were submitted to Maitland City Council for review in July.
Mr Rees said the Roads and Traffic Authority would seek development approval from the State Government as soon as the review was finished.
The RTA would put the work out to tender.
Mr Rees would not give a project cost because of the impending tender process, but previous estimates had put it at $12 million.
Under a Deed of Agreement with developers, the bridge would have had to be paid for in contributions before Thornton North development went beyond about 890 houses.