Lismore City Council, business owners call for demolition of historic Terania St bridge after spate of crashes

Lismore businesses are losing a bundle because crashes into a 130-year-old heritage-listed bridge are resulting in road closures. They’ve joined council in calling for a bulldozer to be brought in.

Businesses are being impacted by Terania St bridge closures at Lismore. Pictures: Lismore City Council and (inset) Cath Piltz

A North Coast council is lobbying Transport NSW to have a heritage-listed railway bridge torn down after repeated crashes involving trucks and other vehicles.

The crashes have resulted in closures of Terania St, an arterial road into town from west of the regional hub of Lismore.

Diversions around North and South Lismore due to the Terania St Bridge have been impacting businesses, with owners complaining of a “huge hit”.

Northside Liberty service station owner Sharon Madden told The Northern Star she has been getting about 40 per cent of her usual trade.

“I was doing OK,” Ms Madden said.

“We came back from the flood pretty strong and we’ve been strong right up until the closure in October last year, when they first shut this road.”

Terania St closed after a truck crash earlier this month. Picture: Lismore City Council

Ms Madden said the bridge was in “terrible condition” and should have been pulled down right away.

“They (authorities) should be advertising saying the businesses on these roads are open, but the care factor isn’t there,” she said.

But Transport NSW states the bridge cannot be removed without Heritage NSW approval.

“An application to demolish a heritage-listed bridge requires a number of documents to support an application,” a spokesperson said.

“We are working with Heritage NSW to determine the information required and the prospects of making an application.”

Earlier this month, Lismore City Council was lobbying to urgently remove the 130-year-old structure, citing “significant disruptions and safety risks”.

At an October 2023 meeting, councillors resolved to push for the state to fast-track removal. Other state bridges also in line to be knocked down include those on Union St, Frank St, Crane St (between Barrow Lane and Simmons St), Alexandria Pde (near Flick St) and Winterton Pde (near Lismore Turf Club).

Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg has called for urgent replacement of the bridge.

Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg said Terania St’s operation was vital to CBD connectivity.

“Incidents with the rail bridge involving vehicle collisions and ongoing structural issues continuously cause the closure of the road, disrupting vital traffic flow for motorists in and out of the CBD and hurting nearby businesses,” he said.

A truck “incident” caused the road to be closed again earlier this month, painting a stark picture for the council. Cr Krieg said “our request to remove the bridge is more urgent and relevant than ever”.

“We appreciate the community’s patience and support as we work towards making our City safer and more accessible for everyone,” he said.

The bridge was heritage listed due to its unusual construction and design for a flood-prone area back in 1999.

Ms Madden, a 19-year stalwart of North Lismore said she was determined to stay in the regional city and slog on, despite customers leaving since the record 2022 floods, impacting trade even before the bridge became a bugbear.

Devastation wrought in the disasters is still evident in Lismore.

“The residents are all but gone, there’s a few left but it’s struggle street at the moment,” Ms Madden said.

Lismore Pets and Saddles owner Lucinda Dyason says trade has plunged

Lucinda Dyason, owner of Pets and Saddles op shop pet rescue, said traffic has halved on Union St, South Lismore since the closure.

“It is hurting us yet again,” she said.

“A lot of my customers come from the Nimbin, Jiggi, Dunoon, Modanville areas and they usually come up Terania St, turn right before the bridge and up Union St to the Southside shops.”

She said detours were inconvenient for customers.

Sharon Madden said she wants to stay and is calling out to customers to help keep them trading. Picture: Danica Munro

“I am about 40 per cent down on trade which was not good before the closure, with Lismore’s already depressed state,” she said.

“People are creatures of habit and once you lose them they tend to just pick up at the supermarket or elsewhere on their route instead of (making) the extra effort to come here.

“We were just picking up again when Union Street closed for repairs and Terania Street viaduct at the same time. Now we get hit again.”

Ms Dyason said Lismore businesses have been selling up and moving interstate, bringing tougher times before the bridge debacle.

With locals needing to go out of their way to access businesses along Terania St and Union St in South Lismore, Ms Madden said she understands if people don’t want to do that.

“We’re just calling for people to keep us trading.”