Wyndham heritage to be respected
Bega Valley Shire Council will continue with its planned works on the Pretty Point Bridge.
Monday, 3 July 2017
“There is a sense of grief within the community about the loss of this iconic timber structure, but I am hoping we can turn that into a positive collaboration between residents and Council,” Director of Transport and Utilities, Terry Dodds said.Sections of bridge trusses, which date back to 1896, remain in Council’s compound. There was vigorous discussion at last week’s Council meeting about how to reuse the remaining sections creatively within the Wyndham area.
“We’ll go to the community for their ideas on how to utilise the remaining sections of the bridge trusses that whilst beautiful are not structurally sound for bridge construction, as they suffer from rotting timbers. Perhaps they could be used in a park as a sculpture, or as part of an entrance to the village,” Mr Dodds suggested.
Last week’s Council meeting heard of the effort staff went to, to try and reuse sections of the bridge as part of the structures upgrade. Over the period since 2009 Council has been considering options which were signed off in 2013 and the work has commenced. The proposal to install a decorative truss as part of the works has been worked on by staff since then. In 2016 it became obvious that the cost was prohibitive and a report to Council in November 2016 reported on this. "
"I apologise unreservedly if this outcome has not been circulated broadly in the Wyndham community,” Mr Dodds said.
“Engineering staff looked at a range of options to somehow restore the ageing historic trusses, in the end we must move forward with an option that meets a need and sits within our budget and practicalities.”
“All Councillors and the staff involved regret how this has played out at times, much of it beyond our control, but I think we can all come together now in a celebration of history, while building a new bridge that serves the community into the future,” Mr Dodds said.
Bega Valley Shire Council oversees the maintenance of 227 bridges through an ongoing renewal process supported by State and Federal Government grant monies.
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