Local residents have angrily denied claims the historic Cuttagee Bridge needs to be replaced with a two lane concrete version for community safety reasons.
Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison has cited the reason for changing her stance after promising at the last election to save the 134-year-old structure.
Restoration of Cuttagee Bridge Group spokesperson Alec Marr says citing issues from the 2019/20 bushfires is disingenuous.
“There were a lot of problems with how those fires in 2019/20 were managed but Cuttagee Bridge was not one of them,” Mr Marr said.
“In fact it was one of the heroes. because when they had to turn thousands of people at Ulladulla back through the fire fields every bit of traffic went across the Cuttagee Bridge,” he said.
“Everything. Every car, every truck, every caravan passed over that bridge.
“That Cuttagee Bridge has done its job magnificently despite years of neglect.
“Its no problem at all to get that bridge restored, strengthened and mad fit for purpose.”
Local residents said the State Government has also been hoodwinked by a so-called engineers report into thinking the bridge needs to be replaced rather than restored.
Mrs Aitchison told us she trusts her department’s engineers when they tell her the bridge needs to be replaced.
But Mr Marr said the Minister has been fooled by the bureaucrats.
“That report from Transport NSW is not and engineering report. It’s a propaganda document dressed up as an engineering report,” Mr Marr said.
“None of the spin we are hearing from Michael Holland or Jenny Aitchison has any basis at all in engineering,” he said.
