An innovative solution has been developed to help relocate a large colony of threatened bats from the existing Sportsmans Creek Bridge at Lawrence to the new crossing. A Roads and Maritime Services spokesperson said the Large-footed Myotis microbats were discovered during a biodiversity assessment. “Without putting the population at risk Roads and Maritime decided to install bat boxes on the existing bridge, which will be relocated to the new crossing once it’s completed,” The spokesperson said. “In consultation with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, Roads and Maritime has included a long-term microbat roosting and breeding habitat in the new bridge design. “Seasonal monitoring of the bats is also being carried out to check the numbers of the population and will continue for three years after the new bridge is built.” The new $27million bridge is on track to open to traffic in 2018, with work continuing to improve the connection of Grafton Street to the new crossing. Part of Grafton Street will remain closed until November this year, weather permitting, to allow the work to take place. A project update is now available for the community to view at www.rms.nsw.gov.au/projects.