Victor Harbor residents urge a rethink of plans for new causeway to Granite Island
Close to 5400 people have signed a petition urging the state government to rethink its plans for the Granite Island causeway.
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A petition urging a rethink on plans to replace the Victor Harbor causeway has received nearly 5400 signatures – only months out from when work is expected to start.
Construction works on the new Granite Island causeway are planned to start towards the end of the year and it is expected to be open for public access in late 2021.
But Victor Harbor residents Eli Bickley and his wife Kerryn, who organised the petition, believe plans for the new causeway need to be revisited.
Rather than building a new concrete causeway, as planned, the Bickleys suggested reconstruction using composite materials would be the preferable option.
Mr Bickley said this would not only save on costs, it would also help preserve the causeway’s heritage and avoid potential environmental issues.
“This composite technology has been used for over 25 years internationally and has been proven to withstand earthquakes and tsunamis,” he said.
“Lots of people are only just learning of the fate of the causeway jetty and are disappointed to hear that the decision seems to be already made.”
Graham Philp is a former Victor Harbor mayor and chairman of advocacy group Save Granite Island’s Penguins. Mr Philp has grave fears about what building a new causeway would mean for Granite Island’s little penguin colony, now down to a mere 20 to 30 birds.
“If they build this new causeway it will be a line in the sand,” he said.
“Once it’s crossed, I don’t believe we have a chance to save the little penguin colony on Granite Island.”
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Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government Minister Stephan Knoll said, unfortunately, the existing Granite Island causeway could not be salvaged.
“If we attempted to refurbish the existing causeway, no original timber piles could be retained and the causeway would be shut for well over 12 months, which would kill the local tourism industry and jobs,” he said.
“By building a new causeway, we can ensure the existing causeway remains open to support tourism and jobs in the region when they are desperately needed coming out of the COVID pandemic.”