The campaign to have Cuttagee Bridge restored has entered a new phase.

The fight to restore Cuttagee Bridge enters a new phase.

A new Committee has been formed by locals to continue the fight to have the Cuttagee Lake Bridge restored. The new Committee has tagged itself as the “Restoration of Cuttagee Bridge Group” (RCBG).

The convenor of the new Committee, Philip Coates said that “…our Committee will build on the excellent work already done by the Save Cuttagee Bridge Group and others in the lead up over several years to Bega Valley Shire Council’s decision made on 12 November 2025”.

In the immediate aftermath of Council’s decision to build an over-scale concrete bridge and demolish the existing 133 year old Cuttagee Bridge; there has been a great deal of public disenchantment, mainly because Council chose to ignore the Community’s express wishes conducted through a number of public forums/information sessions, two community engagement surveys, a 15,000 signature petition and Council’s own Minutes (that otherwise recognised the Bridge’s important contribution to the tourism route as well as heritage and recreational values). The community has repeatedly called for Council to restore or build a single-lane hybrid bridge.

Under this State Government, NSW Labor Minister for Roads and Regional Transport The Hon Jenny Aitchison MP promised the “repair and restoration of Cuttagee Bridge in line with its heritage position” and most recently commented on Council’s decision that she is “disappointed that Council decided to proceed with a design that does not uphold the heritage of the current bridge”. Council has never sought to restore the Bridge respecting its heritage values.

A two-lane concrete and steel monstrosity, will destroy the existing aesthetic of the surrounding stunning natural environment, rich heritage, tourism and road safety qualities the single-lane bridge currently provides. It will dramatically increase the potential risk of traffic incidents for vehicles versus pedestrians and wildlife. It has created a number of unanswered management issues in the immediate bridge precinct, to which they have no solutions and no money to fix. For example, it is anticipated that the speed limit over the new bridge will be increased to 80 km/h (presently supposed to average 10 to 40 km/h) with no provision of a car parking amenity for recreational users of Cuttagee Lake estuary/tidal area, north and south of the new bridge.

Why we are pursuing this course of action is because during the 2023 State election, Labor gave a commitment to provide $15 million for Cuttagee Bridge “Repair and Restoration works” in line with its heritage position. Instead what we got from Council is an outcome to demolish the Bridge and replace it with a modern two lane soulless concrete structure with a projected cost of almost double at $29.1 million.

It is not clear where the additional funding will come from to complete the project. The total financial outlay for Wallaga Lake Bridge refurbishment was contained at approximately $13.3 million by Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW), with work completed in July 2025.

We want NSW Labor to take control of this project to achieve their previously promised outcome which has been totally ignored by Council.

We are calling on Local Bega MP, Dr Michael Holland and Ms Aitchison to stop funding any further development on Council’s preferred oversized concrete bridge option and instead develop a genuine heritage alternative. TfNSW did an outstanding job of restoring the Wallaga Lake Bridge, that is a similar size and character to Cuttagee Bridge and is also situated on Tourist Drive 9.

The campaign to have Cuttagee Bridge restored has entered a new phase. We will be ramping up our efforts in our local community, amplifying the voices of independent experts and building pressure on key Ministers to restore Cuttagee Bridge; in line with the scope of previous commitments, while still delivering a Bridge that is resilient, requires low maintenance, caters for emergency vehicles and future proofed for decades to come.

RCBG comprises community members with backgrounds in engineering, environmental protection and chartered accounting.