Cuttagee Bridge: Bega Council talks stall, calls for NSW government funding

More than $15 million is needed to repair a historic bridge on the state’s south coast, as council calls on the NSW Government to foot the bill.

Bega councillors are preparing to call on the NSW Government to foot the bill for a mutlimillion-dollar revitalisation of the the Cuttagee Bridge as tensions over funding fears boils over.

Councillor Helen O’Neil joined her colleagues on Thursday, urging the government to adopt a more flexible grants process for its Fixing County Bridges scheme — which she said had stalled talks and raised the ire of the community.

“It is important that we as council speak to our State Government partners about problems their programs are causing,” Cr O’Neil said. “It has become apparent that there is bridging infrastructure all over the shire and covering the whole state that is simply not eligible for funding at a time when regional councils are so heavily reliant on the state.”

The 100-year-old timber bridge is one of five wooden bridges on the south coast tourist road that links Tathra to Bermagui.

The bridge, which Ms O’Neil said had historic and tourist value, has been the subject of more than three years of debate and anxiety over the possible demolition and replacement of the vital carriageway.

More than $15 million would be required to repair Cuttagee Bridge, according to Bega Valley Shire council estimates

After four failed motions, Bega Council deferred a March, 2021 decision to demolish the bridge, but will call on the NSW Government to issue funding.

Resistance within the community to the possible replacement of the old wooden bridge with a two-lane, concrete structure forced the council last year to consider the bridge’s heritage value, which it said prevented its repair being funded by Transport for NSW.

Faced with a $7 million deficit in general funds, Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said that while he agreed with the bridges heritage value, the council could not afford to fund the repair.

“I totally agree with councillor O’Neil that it‘d be great to keep all our bridges and make them tourist attractions, but this council cannot afford to do it,” he said.

“The only way to do it is we get the state government to change (funding) criteria.”

Cr Fitzpatrick said funding available to the council through the State Government’s Fixing Country Bridges scheme was limited.

“The scheme only allows for timber bridges to be replaced with concrete; any bridge with a heritage listing is excluded,” Cr Fitzpatrick said.

“We are calling on the state government to broaden the criteria to help address this issue and provide a pathway to ensure we can continue to have a safe and reliable Tathra to Bermagui route for the community and visitors alike.”

In January, emergency repairs costing $50,000 were carried out on the bridge, with costs being drawn from an $1 million council fund.

Cr Fitzpatrick warned that with more than 230 bridges in the Bega Valley Shire — many also ageing and in need of occasional maintenance — any stop gap solution or council-funded program in Cuttagee would drain much needed resources from other bridge repair projects.

“Based on the planning work we did last year, we’d need more than $15 million to carry out the works at Cuttagee,” Bega mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said. Picture: Facebook

“Based on the planning work we did last year, we’d need more than $15 million to carry out the works at Cuttagee, including the proposed bridge replacement, which we just don’t have,” he said.

Cr O’Neil urged the council to consider an outside survey into the possibility of a safe timber or hybrid timber and concrete bridge.

The council also failed to pass a motion to include funding in the 2022/23 budget to do detailed design of a single lane composite bridge consisting of a concrete substructure and timber superstructure to replace Cuttagee Bridge.

The Cuttagee Bridge Community Advisory Group will present a report to council on the bridge’s heritage value on March 16.

However, the issue won’t be heard by council for three months.

Transport for NSW has been contacted for comment.