It’s been some time since you could access the old North Bourke Bridge - the oldest surviving lift-span bridge in Australia. Twenty-six years after it was decommissioned, the cogs are turning to bring it back to life.

Restoring the North Bourke Bridge has been in the works for years, a chore they’ve found to be a slow and expensive process.

This month, the Council revealed that the restoration won’t look like the original vision. 

“At this point it is important that the community is aware that it won’t be financially feasible to restore the bridge and approaches to the same extent as to what it originally comprised,” Bourke General Manager Leonie Brown told the shire. 

While efforts to create a tourist attraction of the bridge are still in full swing, maintaining the original approaches to the bridge has become impossible, as well as ensuring the option for emergency vehicle access.

At the latest bridge inspection, a bridge engineer advised Council that “due to hazards to the public and the heavily deteriorated condition of the timber approach spans, our view is that the approach spans should be demolished as early as practicable.”

Instead, the approaches will likely be replaced, still allowing the bridge to be open for pedestrian and cyclist access, and to provide for weddings and other similar community functions. 

“To achieve this deconstruction, the project will need to obtain heritage, environmental and other statutory approvals and undertake community and stakeholder engagement,” Ms Brown said in her statement. 

While a $400,000 grant from Transport for NSW allowed the council to undertake the design and documentation phase of bridge work, following approvals and design, Council still needs to attract funding to undertake the physical works.  

“Community engagement is most important on projects such as this. In the goodness of time Council will be inviting interested community members to participate in the engagement process for the bridge,” Ms Brown said. 

Council has also entered into discussions with Transport for NSW to designate a space near the bridge for use as a rest area for a trial period of 12 months, with a view to assess the impact on local accommodation providers after the trial.