A two-lane hybrid structure is now on the table for the Cuttagee Bridge replacement. Photo: Supplied.
UPDATED 7 May: On 6 May Bega Valley Shire Council voted to request additional funding from the NSW Government. Following the council meeting, Member for Bega Dr Michael Holland said: “Bega Valley Shire Council has now voted to accept a new design that delivers a new bridge while incorporating heritage features important to the local community.”
For five years Bega Valley Shire Council has been intent on demolishing the single-lane Cuttagee Bridge and replacing it with a two-lane concrete structure. On 30 April it said it would instead be progressing a two-lane hybrid structure with decorative timber.
Ever since council announced its intention in 2021, sections of the community have been campaigning against a concrete structure and started a petition that has gathered almost 13,000 signatures.
With the advocacy of Member for Bega Dr Michael Holland, in March 2023 then Shadow Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison made a $15 million election commitment to restore the bridge in line with its heritage values.
Despite that, in November 2025 council voted to proceed with a two-lane concrete bridge that was estimated to cost $29.1 million. Little progress has been made since because council was unable to source additional funding.
Concerned that council was not delivering on the election commitment, the NSW Government has been working behind the scenes to break the stalemate.
It started with Dr Holland visiting Cuttagee Bridge on 31 March and telling council to get on with the job. He told the gathering the council had until the end of April to get its act together.
In a statement on 22 April council’s infrastructure director Andrew Latta said council was progressing the Cuttagee Bridge project as per the current funding deed and resolution of council to build a two-lane concrete structure with attached shared pathway and handrails.
He said council staff recently met with Transport for NSW (TfNSW) to discuss progress on Cuttagee Bridge, the condition report and funding shortfall.
State Member for Bega Dr Michael Holland at Cuttagee Bridge on 31 March. Photo: Supplied.
For its part, earlier that day, Ms Aitchison’s office said there were ongoing community concerns about the design, particularly from a heritage perspective.
It said TfNSW was open to revising the funding arrangement to ensure the project was fully funded and deliverable and that the grant agreement would be rewritten to reflect the revised approach with clearer milestones and performance requirements.
This is exactly what has transpired over the past eight days.
Council said it had “recently” received formal correspondence outlining the potential for a revised funding arrangement to support the project’s completion “with several conditions”.
Council’s CEO Anthony McMahon said the latest costings for the bridge renewal, including a temporary bridge and access council needs to provide during construction, would cost $27.5 million.
“I have recommended to council that we ask the NSW Government for the remaining $12.75 million,” he said.
“The offer from TfNSW has come with a request for a revised design. If we change the design of the bridge at this stage there will likely be cost and time impacts, however we will work with TfNSW and the consultants working on the project to ensure these are minimised,” he said.
If council accepts his recommendation at next week’s council meeting, “we will seek further clarity from TfNSW on the finer details of the revised funding agreement”.
“We are working towards the additional funding being conditional on the bridge design changing to reflect the two-lane hybrid structure with decorative timber, which was one of the options presented to council in November 2025,” Mr McMahon said.
It was the most expensive of the three options presented. The cheapest was the single-lane hybrid option.
Cuttagee Bridge has been lengthened twice and repaired after two major floods. Photo: Marion Williams.
Mr McMahon said any changes to the funding agreement regarding delivery timeframes must be realistic and that rushing things could cause more issues on the complex project.
“We need full funding, a final design, detailed construction planning, environmental assessments and approvals in place before work can get started. Some of these are already well advanced,” he said.
“We understand how important this bridge is to our community and local economy and will continue to keep residents informed as discussions progress and key decisions are made,” Mr McMahon said.
Phil Coates, a member of the Restore Cuttagee Bridge Group, said Cuttagee Bridge’s heritage ran much deeper than what council was talking about as attested by heritage expert Professor Richard Mackay AM.
“Repurposing timber from the bridge for a walkway when the bridge doesn’t have one is not heritage,” he said. “Heritage would be more retaining the skeletal appearance and honouring the transformative engineering structure that has evolved over its life.”
