Kirwans Bridge Action Group is calling on Strathbogie Shire Council to reopen Kirwans Bridge, dismissing the report council cited when calling the bridge “structurally compromised” and not “safe for use by vehicles”.
The bridge has been shut since the October floods, and council has said it would be closed indefinitely, with either a replica needing to be built or “extensive structural repairs” carried out before it could reopen.
Kirwans Bridge Action Group spokesperson Robyn Taylor said she met with council on Monday, March 27, and said she thought the decision to close the bridge until further notice was “ridiculous”.
“It’s frustrating, they haven’t spoken to us at all, and not once do they mention or recognise our concerns,” Ms Taylor said.
Council said this week it was exploring costings and feasibility of either rebuilding or reinforcing the bridge, but Ms Taylor said she wanted the terms of reference for the new report expanded to discuss exactly what needed to be done to the bridge, and to discuss its long-term future.
She said she wanted council to form a transition plan for residents while it decided what it was going to do with the bridge.
Ms Taylor said the report presented by council was not comprehensive, especially compared to a similar report conducted by a Shepparton-based company at the same time, which she said stated there was no damage to the bridge.
However, Ms Taylor said as the second report was only commissioned to look at opening the waterway, not the bridge, its findings about the bridge were not looked at by council.
She said the parts of the bridge that the report released this week said were “severely rotted and decayed” were parts of the old bridge, from when it was two lanes, and did not pose any risks to the bridge as it currently stood.
Ms Taylor said the bridge’s closure was causing delays for emergency services, massive increases in home care services’ travel costs for residents on the north side of the bridge and issues for students who were now unable to catch the bus to school, while the group also had other concerns.
Council has called an extraordinary general meeting for April 11 to consider a proposal of the variation to Weir Rd.
The group is having a community meeting on Saturday, April 1 at 10.30am at the Angling Club near the bridge to put pressure on council to reopen the bridge.