Bermagui's Wallaga Lake Bridge and causeway were built in 1894

They surfaced during Transport for NSW's community consultation about the proposed prolonged closure of the 129-year-old, single-lane timber bridge for essential repairs and maintenance.

The consultation included meetings with several stakeholder groups and a community forum on Tuesday, July 25.

Transport for NSW director regional community partner Joanne Parrott said they had heard some requests for the bridge to be replaced now.

"The immediate task is to address the maintenance issue and we are working in the background about the long-term future," she said.

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Allan Douch, president of Bermagui Historical Society, said people need to look at the bigger picture of access for school buses and emergency services, as well as the livelihood of businesses.

"With the population growing, the wooden one-lane bridge is struggling to keep up," he said.

Mr Douch worked for the Forestry Commission of NSW for 48 years and fire-fighting was a major component of his job.

He said bushfires tend to come from the west meaning the Cobargo-Bermagui road gets cut off.

The exit to the south over Cuttagee Bridge leads into bush so the north exit over Wallaga Lake Bridge is the safest during bushfires.

He said both bridges could collapse as heavy earth-moving equipment comes to fight fires.

"The existing Wallaga Lake Bridge could be kept as a walking platform and become an important historical site."

There has long been concern that the causeway built in 1894 is causing the lake to silt up.

Steve Buckley, a board member of Merrimans Local Aboriginal Land Council, said his community "would like the causeway removed and one bridge going all the way".

Keith Bashford, a Wallaga Lake resident of 10 years, said he totally concurred.

He said that in the 1920s the lake was as deep as 60 metres.

Those same parts are now 20 metres deep as 40 metres of silt have accumulated because the entrance to the sea is filling in.

"The causeway is blocking the water from leaving in a clear path," Mr Bashford said.

"Fixing the bridge is like putting a Band Aid on someone having a heart attack."

Transport for NSW senior manager bridge planning south, Ben Rawson, said that after the proposed work is complete every element of the bridge would have been replaced, although he couldn't guarantee how long it would last.

"Right now there is no money for a new bridge.

"We have heard that people want a new bridge loud and clear," he said.

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