Brockelos Creek Bridge is located just south of the Murrah Hall, at the bottom of a hill and behind what many nearby residents say is a blind corner.

Grant Mitchell, member of the Murrah Hall Preservation Association, has lived in the Murrah for over 30 years and said the bridge is dangerous and needs to be improved.

“It always takes someone to get killed for something to change, and I’m trying to avoid that,” he said.

He said there have been many near misses at the bridge, and he used to be able to “hear the brakes” as he lived up the hill from it.

It is clear the Brockelos Creek Bridge metal safety rail has been bashed in a few places – most likely due to a vehicle hitting it.

Mr Mitchell said many cars do not slow down to the 40kmh speed limit that is in place across the bridge, and instead roar across it.

The Tathra-Bermagui Rd is a regional road, which means it has funding from the Roads and Maritime Services and meets their approval, but is under Bega Valley Shire Council’s jurisdiction.

Mr Mitchell first contacted council about improving safety at the bridge in June 2012, and said all that consultation achieved was having signs erected.

“We need a new bridge,” he said.

“As an absolute minimum, they [council] need to take the vegetation off that blind corner.”

This would be an easy and inexpensive procedure, he said, as it would just involve clearing all the trees and bushes that are helping to create a blind corner.

He said this would improve visibility by allowing drivers to see over and around the corner. 

Council’s group manager of transport and utilities Wayne Sartori said maintenance has been performed on the vegetation surrounding Brockelos Creek Bridge, however, large scale removal of vegetation requires particular approval and he did not believe it was warranted in this case.

Mr Sartori said the bridge has narrowness and alignment issues - meaning there is not a straight approach to it – but there was “nothing particularly special” about it.

“Brockellos Creek Bridge has its own particular issues, but is no worse than other bridges along that road,” he said.

“On that road there are a number of single-lane bridges, with a number of alignment issues and issues with speeding on curves.

“People should drive in accordance with road conditions, and those conditions change with the weather at any time of day.”

Mr Mitchell said years ago Brockelos Creek Bridge was wooden, and council refurbished it with a guard rail on top and installed fortifications for a concrete bridge – but only on one side of it.

Nearby residents have stated they would have preferred for it to become a two-lane bridge, but Mr Sartori said there are no major improvements planned for it in the imminent future.

He said it would be improved over time, but council only has a certain allocation of funding for bridges each year and other bridges along the Tathra-Bermagui Rd were in worse states.

“I believe council has addressed the issues raised in this occasion,” he said.

Mr Mitchell disagrees, and said it is the worst bridge on the Tathra-Bermagui Rd.

“It’s at the bottom of a hill, with a blind corner,” he said.

“I just don’t want to see people killed there.

“It’s just a matter of time.”