While the council has welcomed state government funding to replace its timber bridges, not everyone is happy with the planned work.
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Last week, Member for Bega Andrew Constance announced $24million to repair or replace 22 bridges across his electorate, including 14 in the Bega Valley Shire.
BVSC said it welcomed the $16.5m investment coming its way under the Fixing Country Bridges Program, and that it would be used to "replace a number of ageing timber bridges across the shire with structures that are safer and more resilient to natural disasters".
Chief among them is the Cuttagee Lake Bridge, proposed to be replaced with a concrete structure at a cost of $7.5m.
However, no sooner had the announcement been made that a petition began circulating calling on council to rethink its proposal to demolish and replace the bridge on the Tathra-Bermagui Rd, which is listed on the local heritage register.
At the time of writing the Change.org petition already had 1245 signatures calling on council to save the "iconic" timber structure, not only for its aesthetics and history, but that the single lane requires motorists to slow down on the regional road.
In its agenda for Wednesday's meeting, March 10, council staff acknowledge the heritage listing of Cuttagee Bridge, but also that it "is not viable to be retained".
Staff propose it be demolished and replaced with a two-lane concrete bridge "sympathetic to heritage and tourism values".
They also recommend the engagement of a heritage consultant "to work with council and the community to identify how to reflect heritage and tourism values in any new structure."
There is also the recommendation for a coastal engineer "to assist council to determine an appropriate design that addresses identified coastal hazards at this location" - another of the petition's key points of consternation is that any replacement needed to consider future effects of sea level rise and coastal erosion
BVSC said it has approximately 56 timber bridges across the shire in varying conditions, some of which have also been affected by the recent bushfires. Council's current bridge asset replacement values are in the order of $40m.
"It is anticipated that the majority of the community will be supportive of the bridges being replaced, however it is highly likely there will be some concern over the local heritage listing of Cuttagee Bridge and how the heritage of the bridge can be best recognised. It is also anticipated there may be some community conflict between the relative heritage value and the asset and public risk aspects of the bridge."